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Gov. Josh Stein sent a letter to the North Carolina General Assembly on Monday requesting an additional $891 million to cover the costs for the next six months of rebuilding western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, including a hold harmless for school districts and budget stabilization for community colleges.
In a post on social media, Stein said, “My team has put to work about 80 percent of the available state funds we’ve received through the end of March.”
The letter said federal assistance is “slow and uncertain.”
“Federal disaster funding also continues to trickle into the state,” Stein said in the letter, “although nothing close to the additional $19 billion I requested in February.” The governor said he expects the burden to rebuild western North Carolina “to increasingly fall on state and local organizations.”
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The governor’s request includes several line items and provisions related to education, including:
- A hold harmless for school districts in disaster-declared counties to receive funding based at least on the Average Daily Membership (ADM) for the 2024-25 school year for up to two years, which will “stabilize school budgets and prevent rapid drops in state funding while schools recover from the hurricane.”
- $2.5 million to the N.C. Community College System “to allocate to colleges impacted by Hurricane Helene that experienced enrollment declines between FY 2023-24 and FY 2024-25.”
- $70 million for repairs in school districts without flood insurance — $20 million in recurring funding and $50 million in non-recurring funding to the Office of State Fire Marshall (OSFM) Public School Insurance Fund (PSIF).
- A requirement for school districts to obtain all other perils insurance through the Office of the State Fire Marshall’s Public School Insurance Fund (PSIF) and maintain coverage moving forward.
- An amendment to G.S. 115C-523.2, which requires school districts to purchase flood insurance for all buildings with a 1% or higher annual risk of flooding and requires local boards of education to certify to the Commissioner of Insurance when buildings do not require flood insurance according to the threshold set by the statute. Charter schools are included under the provisions of this statute to ensure they are appropriately protected against flood risk.
“Western North Carolina is coming back strong, but there is much more work to do,” Stein said.
The requested funding would allow rebuilding and recovery efforts to continue as quickly and effectively as possible, according to the governor.
The North Carolina General Assembly has already appropriated about $1.43 billion for Helene recovery to date, according to the request, and also reallocated another $202 million.
Read more about Helene relief bills
Additionally, the request says “the state has received about $1.45 billion in federal funding as of mid-April. Federal agencies have announced another $2.59 billion in allocations to the state, including $1.43 billion for Community Development Block Grant — Disaster Recovery (CDBGDR).”
The damage from Helene, Stein said, was unparalleled, totaling more than $59 billion.
“The storm’s impact is so much more than a number,” he said. “It’s people’s lives. It’s cherished communities. It’s traditions and hopes for the future.”
Critical and extensive needs remain, Stein said. The proposed $891 million covers “six months of needs at the state level,” and “it includes additional funding to replenish recovery activities where funds have already been, or will soon be, exhausted.”
The request is presented under the following six categories. It includes the highest priorities, according to Stein, and will allow the state to address pressing needs, spark recovery, rebuild infrastructure, and respond to “the significant increase in wildfires.”
Note that some areas of the “recovery framework” are not recommended for funding in this request because the resources are currently adequate.
1. Stronger economy: $260 million
Spurs business recovery through forgivable loans, small business support, and business promotion,
Invests in workforce development to ramp up the skills needed to spur recovery,
Draws people to western North Carolina by promoting tourism and repairing key attractions, such as state and local parks, trails, arts organizations, and museums, and
Supports revenue-strapped local governments as they provide cost-intensive local services to support economic recovery.
2. Safe places to live: $113 million
Advances housing recovery by creating affordable housing, investing in homelessness prevention, and funding non-profit organizations that are actively repairing and reconstructing homes in the region, and
Assists families struggling through disaster recovery with rent, mortgage, and utility bills, as well as disaster legal services.
3. Strengthened infrastructure: $239 million
Expands capacity for debris clean-up, which includes landfill capacity and restoring and improving recycling infrastructure,
Commits to helping repair damaged schools,
Safeguards against future disasters with flood abatement projects, stormwater repair, landslide mapping, etc., and
Provides local government technical assistance for tackling the surge in demand for services like inspections and permitting.
4. Farmers and forests: $105 million
Rehabilitates waterways and land,
Confronts increased wildfire risks with funds for response and prevention, and
Expands grant funding for small and volunteer fire departments.
5. Families and children: $23 million
Addresses rise in food insecurity by funding food banks, and
Stabilizes the path to higher education across the region by assisting affected
community colleges facing enrollment decline.
6. Disaster response and recovery: $152 million
Provides required state match funding for federal disaster programs, and
Addresses ongoing requirements not funded with federal dollars.
— Italicized language is from the Governor’s request
Stein said he anticipates the need for additional funding later and that he will continue to advocate for western North Carolina with the federal government.
Here is the full request.
