Hurricane Katrina’s Lesson for Montebello 

What lesson for Montebello do you find in the following article?  

Post-Katrina Education Problems Linger 

Two years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast,thousands of displaced students and millions of dollars in unfunded school reconstruction projects still plague the region, a new report from the Atlanta-based Southern Education Foundation finds, http://www.sefatl.org/ . 

Described as the first comprehensive, independent assessment of  education along the Gulf Coast since the storm, the report, Education After Katrina (35 pages, PDF), found that only 2 percent of the government's hurricane-related funding went toward education recovery.  And while the hurricane caused $6.2 billion in damages related to educational needs, only $1.2 billion in federal funding has been committed to restoring physical structures and property. …  

Based on an analysis of government data, school records, and private surveys, the report urges the federal government to adopt a "new response" to restoring public education in the region. Many members of Congress agree with that assessment. ...

Others, however, urged caution. "[To resolve the situation] means doing a full assessment of what the childcare centers, preschools, and K-12 schools need to restore themselves," said Steve Suitts, the foundation's program director and author of the report. "That's a lot different from throwing a few million dollars into a bill as it's going through the hopper." 

Byrd, Sheila. "Post-Katrina Education Problems Linger."

Associated Press, 8/29/07, as reprinted in Philanthropy News Digest, September 4, 2007. 

If you answer the multiple-choice questions below and e-mail to lessonanswers@mymontebello.com with “Lesson answers” in the subject field, you will be credited toward a “certificate of recognition in community affairs” to be awarded in 2007 by a local nonprofit organization. 

1.  Two years after Hurricane Katrina, where is there still a gap in rebuilding?

(a) Education for students.

(b) Health care for the public.  

2.  What is the lesson for Montebello?

(a)  If a disaster were to befall us, we should insist on our own priorities and timetable for spending Federal dollars earmarked for rebuilding. 

(b) We should identify resources which could be and would be tapped to enable our community to function as much as possible, without regard to whether Federal help would be coming.  

September 13, 2007