METAIRIE, La. – A Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant will allow a private Metairie school to rebuild its destroyed campus.

Celebration Christian School has been closed in the two years since Hurricane Katrina. Approximately 220 students from preschool through eighth grade attended the school before the hurricane. The school was submerged in four feet of water for three weeks.                                                                                                          

While repairs to the facility have not yet begun, the newly allotted FEMA funds will expedite the school’s recovery. Construction on the new school should be completed in 12 months, according to a Celebration Christian official.

“We’re going to be able to start rebuilding the school and get it up and running,” Celebration Christian Special Projects Coordinator Ken Boudreaux said. “It’s incredible. The FEMA representatives I’ve dealt with have been exceptional. I can’t speak highly enough of them. To me, they’ve been a blessing.”

FEMA has obligated $2.6 million toward the recovery of Celebration Christian School.

When projects are obligated by FEMA through its supplemental Public Assistance grant, the funds are transferred to a Smartlink account. This allows the applicant, in this case Celebration Christian School and Daycare, to work with the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness as quickly as possible to access the reimbursement monies. The state may require additional documentation from the applicant before disbursing the funds. Obligated funds may change over time as the project worksheet is a living grant that is often adjusted as bids come in and scope of work is aligned.                                  

The Public Assistance program works with state and local officials to fund recovery measures and the rebuilding of government and certain private nonprofit organizations’ buildings, as well as roads, bridges and water and sewer plants. In order for the process to be successful, federal, state and local partners coordinate to draw up project plans, fund these projects and oversee their completion.

FEMA coordinates the federal government’s role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.