NC Legislators Approve Disaster Relief Package Supporting 30 Counties And 33 School Districts
State lawmakers reconvened Wednesday and quickly approved House Bill 149 to provide what they described as “starter relief” to the 27 counties and 30 school districts included in the federal disaster designation as severely impacted by Hurricane Helene, plus Nash County that also was negatively affected. The bill also sets up a relief fund for future relief appropriations to Brunswick and New Hanover counties affected by Potential Tropical Cyclone 8 (PTC8) in September.The Major Disaster Declaration requested by Governor Roy Cooper for Hurricane Helene and granted by President Joe Biden now includes Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yancey, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. In addition to the 27 county school districts for these counties, there are 3 city districts located in the coverage area: Asheville City, Newton-Conover City, and Hickory City.
H149, as fully summarized here, sailed through both chambers on Wednesday as a joint conference committee report not eligible for amendments. It provides both initial state funding relief in these impacted counties and some policy relief needed for essential flexibility in the long recovery ahead. The overall funding package is $273 million from the more than $5 billion held in state reserves, and of that amount, $16 million is provided to affected school districts and charter schools in the designated area. This school funding, requested by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), will specifically allow paying receipt-supported Child Nutrition staff for missed workdays due to Hurricane Helene.
In addition to the funding, policy relief the bill provides for the impacted public schools includes the following, as requested by DPI and the NC Association of School Administrators (NCASA):
- Section 8.1 (a) – For public school units (PSUs) in the designated areas:
a) Allows making up days or excusing up to 20 days missed for schools that closed in September or October 2024 due to weather,
b) Increases the amount of authorized remote instruction time for schools beyond state law’s current allowance of 15 remote instruction days or 90 remote instruction hours, in disaster-declared counties and counties identified as impacted in September by Potential Tropical Cyclone 8 (PTC8) for the remainder of this school year,
c) Treats employees and contractors of PSUs as having worked on days deemed completed by the PSU due to Hurricane Helene and allows paying them through normal allotments, and
d) Requires DPI to report on the calendar flexibility and compensation provided.
- Section 8.2 – Extends the payment deadline for growth bonuses for principals by one month to November 30, 2024, for principals employed in PSUs located in affected counties.
- Section 8.3 – Waives requirements for students enrolled in educator preparation programs who were affected by Hurricane Helene or PTC8 to complete clinical internships over a 16-week period if the requirement would impact the students’ ability to graduate in December 2024.
- Section 12.1 – Temporarily changes the six-month separation requirement for Teachers' and State Employee's Retirement System (TSERS) retirees to a one-month separation and applies to individuals retiring on or after April 1, 2024, but before October 1, 2024, who return in a position needed due to Hurricane Helene. Also temporarily lifts the earnings caps for TSERS and Local Governmental Retirement System (LGERS) retirees from September 25, 2024, until expiration of the state’s disaster declaration (which is extended by the bill to March 1, 2025) for those retirees who retired prior to October 1, 2024, and return in a position needed due to Hurricane Helene.
- Section 12.2 – Allows temporary employees supporting disaster recovery response efforts through Temporary Solutions to continue in their temporary employment beyond the mandatory 11-month separation time requirement for the duration of the state of emergency. These employees are required to have a break in service within six months after the end of the emergency.One DPI request that was not included in the bill is $150 million in flexible funding that could help fill gaps for expenses not covered by insurance in impacted PSUs. DPI indicated that funding is needed for: repairs and renovations; school nutrition, equipment, and supplies; and technology loss. Although this funding was not addressed this week, state lawmakers emphasized that the H149 relief package is only the beginning of the state support they will need to send to assist western North Carolina in recovering from Hurricane Helene. Additional aid is likely to be considered when lawmakers convene again on Oct. 24.
For guidance that the Department of Public Instruction released Oct. 10th on implementing the components of enacted H149, please click here.