Toms River Schools Receive $37K in Sandy Reimbursement Funds

Toms River Regional was awarded nearly $37,000 in a federal funds aimed at helping school districts recover from Superstorm Sandy, according to to an announcement made Tuesday by the state Department of Education and the governor's office.

The New Jersey Department of Education on Tuesday awarded a total of $1.25 million in grants through the U.S. Department of Education’s Project School Emergency Response to Violence (SERV). The grant money that came to Toms River was to offset the cost of transportation for displaced students, according to district Business Administrator William Doering.

"Our communities have exhibited tremendous resilience in the face of the after-effects of Superstorm Sandy and they should be commended for all they have done to support our students and their education," said state Education Commissioner Chris Cerf in a statement. "These funds from the U.S. Department of Education will help support the continuous recovery of school communities in New Jersey and we are grateful these grants were made available."

All of the districts received 45 percent of their requested eligible expenses, which was based on the number of applicants, monies requested, and available funding, according to the state.

"We always hope for more," Doering said. 

School districts or charter schools were able to 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 storm and stabilizing their lives, and activities that assist school districts and charter schools in managing the practical problems created by Sandy, according to the Department of Education.

Examples of eligible types of services or activities districts applied for include:

• Overtime for teachers, counsellors, 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;
• Targeted mental health assessments, referrals and services related to Superstorm Sandy with the goal of restoring victims/survivors to their pre-incident levels of functioning.

The list of districts that applied and their award amounts is as follows:

DISTRICT

AWARD

Atlantic

Brigantine

$ 5,515

Atlantic

Pleasantville

$ 58,240

Essex

Newark

$ 32,500

Hudson

Hoboken

$ 48,142

Hudson

Jersey City

$ 5,459

Middlesex

Sayreville

$ 67,049

Middlesex

South River

$ 46,951

Monmouth

Asbury Park

$ 9,192

Monmouth

Keansburg

$ 322,527

Monmouth

Manasquan

$ 63,655

Monmouth

Monmouth Beach

$ 47,052