School, insurance firm differ on money

~ Caruthersville school officials want a higher estimate, combined with a bond issue, to pay for a new high school.

CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. -- An insurance company estimate of how much it will cost to rebuild Caruthersville High School has left school officials unsatisfied.

Great American Insurance Co. gave the school district a projection of $1.8 million to repair the three-story, 82-year-old school building. School officials believe the building needs to be leveled and rebuilt at an estimated cost of $7 million.

The main building and the abutting gymnasium at 1708 Ward Ave. were insured against natural disasters for a maximum replacement cost of $7.45 million.

"We concede maybe it can be fixed, but the question is, is it practical?" said superintendent Nicholas Thiele.

School officials are not asking for the entire $7 million from Great American, just enough to defer some of the cost if taxpayers approve a bond issue to fund the building Nov. 7.

The school held all 385 of Caruthersville's high school students until it was badly damaged during a tornado that hit the area April 2. Thiele said the brick building needs a full roof repair, most of the glass replaced, new ceilings in many places, floor coverings, electrical wiring, major repairs to the heating and air-conditioning systems and other repairs.

Thiele declined to estimate how much those repairs would cost but pointed to a preliminary estimate by FEMA of $2.3 million. The school district has hired two teams of professional assessors to give separate estimates on a repair cost by the beginning of November. The Cincinnati-based insurance company agreed to consider the outside estimates.

"I'm a school superintendent, so my credentials don't trump those of people who do this for a living, but from a common-sense point of view we believe the best way to do this would be to level it and rebuild," Thiele said.

An e-mail sent to the Great American agent handling the case was not answered. Caruthersville High School students are currently attending classes in 26 mobile trailers on the school district's middle school campus. Classes are also being taught in the high school Industrial Arts Building, Music Building and the Caruthersville Recreation Center.

School officials see the destruction caused by the tornado as the perfect time to consider building a new school at the same location. The school district proposed a bond issue for the Nov. 7 election to raise approximately $4.5 million toward a new school.

"We're optimistic, but you also have to remember that $4.5 million is a lot of money in this community," Thiele said.

Two previous bond issues to replace the school were voted down in past years, most recently in the early 1990s.

Because the county was declared a federal disaster area, the Federal Emergency Management Agency with some state money will pay 85 percent of costs not covered by insurance.

For instance, FEMA will pay most of the costs toward bringing the old or new school up to code for earthquake, fire and wind mitigation.

Thiele said August 2008 is a realistic completion date for finishing a new school. He said he has worked with Great American on 24 other school-related rebuilding projects, and this is the only one where the two sides have significant differences.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245