ROARING SPRING — Members of the Spring Cove School Board voted against purchasing flood insurance for Central High School during a meeting Monday night.

After the meeting, Superintendent Betsy Baker said the insurance does not look like “it’s going to cover anything that’s going to impact us very likely,” adding that they should be “fine.”

The resolution follows the board’s decision in August to table the discussion since there was a “lack of information” about flood specifics.

At Monday night’s meeting, board President Troy Wright spoke about the importance of knowing the insurance’s definition of a flood.

He used an example of “the creek rising, coming up in your school,” but then noting “that flood insurance can also mean the gutter clogged up the roof and was leaking through the A/C into the gym.”

Baker read aloud the insurance’s definition of a flood, stating that it will only protect the school against the “overflow of inland or tidal waters, unusual or rapid accumulation or runoff of the surface water from any source.” It reportedly would not cover floods that stem from inside the building.

“We don’t have to get this insurance, considering we’ve really never had a flood,” Baker said.

Wright agreed with Baker because he was not “interested in paying” for the additional insurance.

If the board had agreed to purchase flood insurance, Baker said it would cost the district $4,376 a year with their $25,000 deductible.

Baker also said rejecting flood insurance is a “good way to save money.”

Mold growth update

Other items on the agenda included an update on the now-controlled mold growth in the elementary school library.

According to Baker, a leak in the library, mixed with the humidity before school began, caused mold to grow. But they “caught it right away,” resulting in a closed-off library during the first days of school.

Operations were not impacted “because it was contained in that area where the leak was,” she said. Mediation was started immediately, and the library has now been cleared after a retest for mold. The service was covered by the school’s insurance.

Budget impasse

Spring Cove is still at an impasse, however, regarding the state budget, Baker said. Compared to last year, their revenue is down more than $3.5 million because they have not received funding from the state.

Baker went on to say they are trying to “process expenses that we have to pay at this point and put off some things.”

While their local income taxes were received, she said the board has decided that if they run out of money, they will take funds from their budgetary reserves.

Baker said their district is still required to submit their share of the PSERs retirement contributions, while the state is not required to do so because their budget is still not finalized.

“Hopefully we get the state budget passed before we run out of money,” she said.

All members were present at Monday’s meeting except Chuck Gojmerac.

Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.