Newark Schools Get $75K in Additional Sandy Recovery Funds

The New Jersey Department of Education has announced that $800,000 in additional grants to assist 11 school districts, including Newark, that are still recovering from the effects of Superstorm Sandy. The funding, from the U.S. Department of Education’s Project School Emergency Response to Violence (SERV) grant program, is available to help districts provide services designed to maintain safe learning environments for children.

“Even though Superstorm Sandy occurred more than a year ago, some of our school communities continue to work toward full recovery,” said Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf. “We are grateful that this funding has been made available to ensure a sense of stability and security for our children’s education.”

Newark is receiving one of the larger awards, $75,000, the department of education said. Several other recipients are in the Shore area, which bore the brunt of Sandy’s wrath last year.

The recent $800,000 in Project SERV funding is in addition to the $1.25 million in Project SERV grants that were announced earlier this year.

Project SERV funds are designed to help school officials restore a sense of safety, stability and security when students’ learning environments have been disrupted due to violence or traumatic experiences. The funding covers expenses such as transportation, overtime for teachers, substitute teachers, communications, counselling and mental health assistance.

Most of the funding for the recent round of Project SERV grants will cover past and anticipated costs of transporting displaced students.