School panels recommend Isaac-related repairs

AMITE — Tangipahoa Parish School Board members recommended approval Tuesday of $220,000 in repairs made necessary by Hurricane Isaac.

Loranger High School’s gym and the main building at Chesbrough Elementary in Kentwood both require new roofs, at projected costs of $145,000 and $74,000, respectively, members of the board’s Loranger and Sumner delegations said Tuesday.

Board delegations are groups of School Board members who represent certain geographic regions of the school district. The delegations recommend to the full board how each region’s capital projects funds should be used in making purchases and repairs for the schools within each region.

The repairs to Loranger High’s gym roof will have to be approved by U.S. District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle, who oversees the parish’s 47-year-old desegregation case. A standing order in the suit requires court approval for all non-priority repair costs over $125,000.

The roofing projects will be paid out of the district’s roofing fund, pending reimbursement by insurance or the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Chief Financial Officer Bret Schnadelbach said.

The insurance policy’s storm deductible is 2 percent of building value, a bar likely to be met by the cost of repairs needed at Loranger High, Schnadelbach said.

Other expected Isaac-related repairs include replacement of the public address system speakers and 25-second play clock at Amite High School’s football stadium and of the lighting at Loranger High’s baseball field, board member Andy Anderson said.

The board delegations also recommended approval Tuesday of various technology purchases across the district, including iPads for administrators and netbooks and SmartBoards for classroom use.