More than a year after the tornado damaged or destroyed 10 Joplin schools, the district has settled with its insurance company on all building damages for $89 million.
Nearly half of that comes from the destruction of Joplin High School.
Originally, the district anticipated it would receive about $85.9 million from Travelers Insurance.
The final settlements were completed June 6.
“We’re satisfied with what we’ve agreed to,” Paul Barr, chief financial officer for the district, said recently.
Barr said there was no litigation or complaints, but according to the documents, the district and the insurance company were sometimes at odds over the amounts for each school building.
So far, the district has received $74.3 million. The district will receive the rest of the funds once it begins building the permanent school replacements.
This is not the first time the district has received more money than anticipated since voters approved a $62 million bond issue in April.
In May, the district received $2.8 million in additional funding from the state of Missouri for five storm shelters and the demolition of properties purchased around the old Joplin High School. The money will be used to expand the new site and move it out of a flood plain.
The bond issue was part of a projected $185 million plan to rebuild the destroyed and damaged schools and to add storm shelters at all Joplin schools.
The remaining $123 million of that $185 million is to be made up from insurance reimbursements, state and federal grants, and private donations received after the storm, but some of the figures were estimates when voters went to the polls.
Joplin Superintendent C.J. Huff said this week that the district would not commit to lowering the amount of the bond issue at this point because there still are too many unknowns, including the cost to rebuild the combined high school and Franklin Technology Center. Those buildings have not been put out for construction bids.
The school board and the administration also have previously discussed using any additional funding the district receives from insurance settlements, state and federal grants, and donations to complete additional long-range building projects, including improvements to the Columbia and West Central elementary school buildings, which are some of the oldest in the district.
Improvements to those schools were not included in the $62 million bond issue.
This summer, the district is also working with Travelers for its settlement on the contents inside all of the buildings, which Barr estimates to be $16 million. He said the district will continue to be insured by Travelers. The amount for contents is not considered a part of the rebuilding budget.
Insurance payments for Joplin schools
East Middle School: $15,540,000
Irving: $5,700,000
Emerson: $1,537,241
Old South: $8,900,000
Kelsey Norman: $67,785
Cecil Floyd: $2,354,008
Roi S. Wood Administration Building: $486,978
Joplin High School: $44,818,891
Franklin Technology Center: $9,865,000
TOTAL: $89,269,903
May 2011 Joplin tornado
Joplin school district settles with insurance company for $89 million for damaged schools
District negotiating with Traveler’s over contents
- May 2011 Joplin tornado
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Donations helping JHS music programs rebuild after tornado
Building a repertoire for the Joplin School District’s orchestra program is a challenge for Kylee VanHorn. “Every time I get on the Internet and look at the music sites, there are so many pieces I want to purchase, and I just don’t have the money,” VanHorn said.
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SLIDESHOW: One year later, One day of unity, updated
Photos from a day of events commemorating the May 22, 2011 tornado anniversary
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Illinois youth group arrives in Joplin to assemble house
Break time was approaching, but Keith Duncan wanted to make one last concentrated push in order to get the large Penske truck unloaded. “Two minutes, people! Two minutes!” he yelled as the students and adults hauling large wooden sections out of the truck began picking up the pace.
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Last of 586 FEMA trailers in Joplin to be prepared for move
For 19 months, rows of nearly 600 units spread out among community and commercial sites were a visual reminder of the homes lost in Joplin on May 22, 2011. One by one, contractors began disassembling and moving the trailers, a testament to their occupants having found places to live.
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Civil engineers release study of Joplin tornado damage
It did not take much wind to flatten houses in the Joplin tornado zone because so many were poorly constructed to withstand wind, according to a study released recently by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Rescuers, tornado victims reunite at Quapaw station
There were lots of hugs exchanged, pictures taken and memories summoned when fire crews on Friday met the two youngsters they pulled, critically injured, from the wreckage of Joplin’s 2011 tornado.
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Quapaw tribe’s firefighters, EMS personnel meet with children rescued at Home Depot in 2011
There were hugs, stories and the occasional tear this morning when two children who were trapped and seriously injured after the 2011 Joplin tornado met for the first time the Quapaw Tribe firefighters and emergency medical workers who pulled them from the wreckage and saved their lives that night.
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New members take seats on redevelopment board
Three new members took their places on the board of the Joplin Redevelopment Corp. in a meeting Thursday. The panel welcomed as new members Laurie Delano, vice president of finance for Empire District Electric Co.; Gary Duncan, retired president and chief executive of Freeman Health System; and Phil Stinnett, a former Joplin council member and mayor.
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Tornado grant trustees look to shelter placement
Trustees overseeing a Joplin tornado fund hope to use some of their remaining money to move FEMA-financed tornado shelters to areas where they are needed.
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Documentary about Joplin Globe coverage of tornado wins 2013 Mirror Award
The documentary “Deadline in Disaster” has won a 2013 Mirror Award in the “Best Single Story” category.
- More May 2011 Joplin tornado Headlines
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