Steuben County school was destroyed by tropical storm flooding
From the office of U.S Senator Chuck Schumer,
Following years of advocacy to help the Jasper-Troupsburg Central School District in its flood recovery and mitigation efforts, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer today delivered $60 million in federal funding for Jasper-Troupsburg Central School District through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to relocate and build a brand-new middle and high school, which was destroyed following the devastating flooding of Tropical Storms Fred and Debby. The school district has met the federal criteria to move the school to a new nearby location, and the updated building will be built primarily with federal disaster recovery funds provided by FEMA.
“Success! After years of hard work, I’m proud and excited to deliver a whopping $60 million for Jasper-Troupsburg Central School District to build a new, safe, and flood-resilient school for students to learn, grow, and succeed. For years, students in the Jasper-Troupsburg Central School District have had to leave the district to receive their education after Tropical Storms Fred and Debby flooded their school building,” said Senator Schumer. “This investment will be transformative for the students, families, and educators of Jasper-Troupsburg. Now, the school district can finally move forward with its plan to create a modern learning environment that will be protected from future flooding.”
“The Jasper-Troupsburg Central School District is thrilled and deeply grateful to learn of the obligation of our FEMA High School replacement project,” said Superintendent Jason Oliver. “This milestone represents years of advocacy, persistence, and collaboration on behalf of our students, staff, and community. We extend our sincere appreciation to Senator Chuck Schumer and his office for their steadfast support throughout this entire process. From the earliest stages of our recovery efforts, Senator Schumer’s team remained engaged, attentive, and committed to helping our district navigate an extraordinarily complex federal process. During times when progress felt uncertain or delayed within the system, their office continued to advocate for our community and help keep this project moving forward. Their longstanding support has meant a great deal to our district and the families we serve. This obligation moves us one significant step closer to providing our students and community with a permanent place to come together, learn, grow, and build for the future.”
Schumer has long supported the Jasper-Troupsburg Central School District in their successful bid for FEMA assistance to relocate the school to a new location with significantly reduced flood risk to ensure the safety of students, teachers, and staff. This $60 million in federal funding for the new school will ensure students, teachers, and staff can learn and work at a safe, healthy new building without fear of impacts from another flood. Schumer is continuing to push for increased investment in weather preparedness services, aiming to reduce future disaster impacts, particularly in flood-prone regions like Steuben County.
Schumer previously fought for federal resources for Steuben County and the Jasper-Troupsburg Central School District following Tropical Storm Fred. The storm resulted in the Jasper-Troupsburg Junior and Senior High School becoming inundated with nearly four feet of water, mud, and debris, causing severe damage and forcing the building to close and students to relocate. After securing a federal disaster declaration for Tropical Storm Fred for Steuben County, unlocking critical federal aid to bolster the Southern Tier’s flood recovery, Schumer secured $5,630,020 in federal FEMA funding to cover the Jasper-Troupsburg Central School District for Emergency Protective Measures.
Then, in August 2024, Tropical Storm Debby wreaked havoc across New York State, including in Steuben County. Schumer explained that there was flash flooding in Jasper, impacting the middle and high school building’s first floor, crawl space, and basement, and creating an immediate threat to the health and safety of students and the general public. As a result, the school district installed dehumidification systems and air filtration devices, remediated mold, demolished drywall, removed debris, did emergency pumping, and did general cleaning. Last year, Schumer secured $2,946,315.09 in federal funding to cover those costs and other restoration efforts taken to prevent further damage within the building.
