Northwest Arkansas school awaiting storm damage reimbursement receives $20,000 grant

A Rogers public school that recently reopened after being damaged by severe weather last year received a $20,000 grant Thursday to restock the library’s Spanish-language books lost in the storm. 

Greer Lingle Middle School sustained around $18 million in damage following fatal storms that spawned multiple tornadoes across north Arkansas during the 2024 Memorial Day weekend, according to Jason Ivester, communications director for the Rogers School District. Students were relocated to temporary classroom trailers on another campus for the 2024-2025 academic year before being welcomed back to the renovated campus in August. 

Most of the district’s buildings had debris around them and no power immediately following the storm, Ivester told the Advocate last year. The schools that took the most damage were Northside Elementary, Westside Elementary and Lingle, he said. The disaster had a “damaging impact” on students and their families, but adversity pulls people together, Lingle Principal Erik Sokol said.

“I would never want to go through it again, but I have a different level of gratitude and appreciation for our students and their families and our community and what we’ve been able to persevere through, and we had an outstanding year,” Sokol said.

Library Media Specialist Tara Herbert accepted a $20,000 Beyond Words grant from Dollar General representatives Tuesday that she said will support the library’s popular graphic novel section and replenish its collection of Spanish-language books. The middle school, which has nearly 700 students in grades 6 through 8, has a large Spanish-speaking population, she said. 

Herbert, who’s starting her 19th year as the school’s librarian, said it was devastating to see the storm damage for the first time. 

“I’ve spent a lot of years and a lot of time building this space up and so it was heartbreaking to see all the things that I had created throughout the years gone,” she said. “It’s kind of exciting now because it’s like a blank slate in here and we’re starting new and can do things in a different new way.”

The grant is important to rebuilding the library’s collection because without it, Herbert said she would only work within her regular budget. The school is awaiting reimbursement from its insurance company, which will inform how much money may be awarded from FEMA, Ivester said. The expenses for the renovation have been temporarily covered by using money from a building fund, he said. 

Increased frequency in natural disasters like the 2024 storms have led to increased insurance premiums for schools across the country. Ivester confirmed that the district’s premiums increased “quite considerably” for the current year, but said it was not due to the tornado.

Arkansas lawmakers give initial approval to new state insurance captive’s rate structure 

A tornado that destroyed Wynne High School in March 2023 resulted in $122 million of the more than $147 million losses in the insurance program managed by the Arkansas School Boards Association, the largest loss of any school district in Arkansas history.

In July of 2023, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced the state would help school districts cover the cost of rising insurance premiums. State lawmakers approved about $11 million to offset the cost of increased premiums, which were expected to rise about 130%.

They also hired a consultant to study increasing premiums. The result of the study was a recommendation for the state to create its own insurance captive to insure schools. Legislators approved laws earlier this year to help get the state-run insurance company set up.  

The Rogers School District was notified by the state that it’s premium for the 2025-2026 fiscal year would remain the same, about $1.97 million, and its deductible would double from $25,000 to $50,000, Ivester said.

Meanwhile, renovations are ongoing at Greer Lingle Middle School, which is getting a new storm safe room that will be part of the fine arts building. The project is expected to be completed in November, when Ivester said the school will host an official grand opening.