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Christie Administration Announces New Recovery Grant Funding for Super Storm Sandy-Impacted School Districts

Districts in the 61 Municipalities that Sustained the Most Damage Per the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management Are Eligible to Apply

For Immediate Release Contact: Barbara Morgan
Rich Vespucci
Date: February 25, 2013 609-292-1126

Trenton, NJ – The New Jersey Department of Education today released an application for grants to assist school communities as they recover from the effects of Super Storm Sandy. These funds, made possible through a $1.25 million grant award from the US Department of Education’s Project School Emergency Response to Violence (SERV) program, are available to districts to fund short- and long-term education services designed to restore safe learning environments for their students.

“Providing resources and support to our schools and communities as they continue to deal with the effects of Super Storm Sandy is of the utmost importance,” said State Education Commissioner Cerf. “I am extremely grateful to Secretary Duncan and the US Department of Education for their commitment to support the recovery of school communities in New Jersey.”

School districts or charter schools may request reimbursement of expenditures in support of activities intended to restore a sense of safety and security, activities intended to assist students in understanding the impact of the hurricane and stabilizing their lives, and activities that assist school districts and charter schools in managing the practical problems created by Hurricane Sandy.

Examples of eligible types of services or activities districts may apply for include:

  • Targeted mental health assessments, referrals and services related to Hurricane Sandy with the goal of restoring victims/survivors to their pre-incident levels of functioning;
  • Overtime for teachers, counselors, and law enforcement and security officers and other staff;
  • Substitute teachers and other staff as necessary;
  • Emergency transportation;
  • Technical assistance on developing an appropriate response to crisis;
  • Transportation and other costs to operate school at an alternative site, e.g. leasing of space to substitute for damaged building;
  • Temporary security measures such as non-permanent metal detectors and additional security guards and security cameras.

The grant application can be found here:
http://www.state.nj.us/education/sandy/projserv/PROJSERV_APPLICATION.pdf

http://www.state.nj.us/education/sandy/projserv/PROJSERV_FUNDING_REQUEST.XLSX

Applications are due by Thursday, March 21, 2013 with an anticipated distribution of funds in April.

Supporting recovery efforts remains a priority for all state agencies, and the Department of Health and Department of Children and Families have been mobilizing resources, expertise and capabilities, to help the affected communities and their residents.  

School districts most heavily impacted by Sandy are encouraged to periodically conduct assessments of their students in order to monitor their physical and mental health. For example, allergic reactions, certain skin infections, respiratory problems, and asthma attacks can be triggered by mold exposure and other contaminants.  Additionally, psychosocial recovery programs for children in schools can help children cope with traumatic stress, anxiety, and fear and avoid more serious mental health challenges in the future.

For more information on the programs and resources offered by the Department of Health or the Department of Children and Families, districts can visit their websites at http://www.state.nj.us/health/ and http://www.state.nj.us/dcf/home/hurricane.html.

The list of districts eligible to apply for funds is as follows:

County District Name
Atlantic Atlantic City Public Schools
Atlantic Brigantine Public Schools
Atlantic Margate City School District
Atlantic Pleasantville Public School District
Atlantic Ventnor City School District
Bergen Little Ferry Public Schools
Bergen Moonachie
Cape May Cape May City Board of Education
Cape May Ocean City School District
Cape May Sea Isle City Board of Education
Cape May Stone Harbor Elementary School
Cape May Upper Township
Cape May Wildwood Crest Borough
Cumberland Downe Township School District
Essex Newark Public Schools
Essex Millburn Township Schools
Hudson Bayonne Board of Education
Hudson Hoboken Public Schools
Hudson Jersey City Public Schools
Middlesex Carteret Public Schools
Middlesex Sayreville Public Schools
Middlesex South River Public Schools
Monmouth Asbury Park School District
Monmouth Belmar Board of Education
Monmouth Eatontown Public Schools
Monmouth Freehold Township School District
Monmouth Highlands Elementary
Monmouth Holmdel Township School District
Monmouth Howell Township Public Schools
Monmouth Keansburg School District
Monmouth Little Silver Boro School District
Monmouth Long Branch Public Schools
Monmouth Manalapan-Englishtown Regional Schools
Monmouth Manasquan School District
Monmouth Marlboro Township Board of Education
Monmouth Middletown Township Public Schools
Monmouth Monmouth Beach Elementary School
Monmouth Neptune Township School District
Monmouth Oceanport School District
Monmouth Rumson Borough
Monmouth Union Beach Public School District
Monmouth Wall Township Public Schools
Ocean Bay Head Borough
Ocean Beach Haven School District
Ocean Berkeley Township
Ocean Brick Township Public Schools
Ocean Lacey Township School District
Ocean Lavallette Borough Board of Education
Ocean Little Egg Harbor Township School District
Ocean Long Beach Island Consolidated School District
Ocean Ocean Gate School District
Ocean Point Pleasant Beach Board of Education
Ocean Point Pleasant Borough Board of Education
Ocean Seaside Heights School District
Ocean Stafford Township School District
Ocean Toms River Regional School District
Ocean Tuckerton Borough School District