Louisiana Education Dept. to pay $1.3M over Katrina funds
- From 2005 to 2016, the state education department received FEMA funds
- The department received money to repair a building instead of replacing it
- Settlement part of $26M recovered from false disaster assistance claims
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(NewsNation) — The Louisiana Department of Education (LDE) has agreed to pay $1.26 million to resolve allegations it received excessive funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for replacing an educational facility damaged by Hurricane Katrina, the Justice Department announced Monday.
According to the allegations, from 2005 to 2016, the state education department received funds from FEMA to replace the Florence J. Chester Elementary School Cafeteria Building based on erroneous information prepared and submitted by a government contractor. However, the department was only entitled to repair funds under FEMA rules.
“FEMA provides critical financial support to help communities recover from disasters,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton. “Today’s settlement demonstrates the department’s commitment to protecting the integrity of such funds and ensuring that they are disbursed in accordance with program requirements.”
The settlement resolves allegations made by the government in a lawsuit initially filed against AECOM Inc. and other parties. In 2020, the state education department was added as a defendant.
The Justice Department has now recovered more than $26 million in connection with disaster assistance applications for educational facilities submitted to FEMA following Hurricane Katrina. AECOM Inc., Xavier University of Louisiana and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans previously settled allegations regarding their roles in submitting false certifications for FEMA funding.
