October 22, 2009

Governor Barbour: $1.5 Million In Katrina Funding Slated To Rebuild Long Beach School

Jackson, Mississippi – Governor Haley Barbour and the Mississippi Development Authority Disaster Recovery Division MDA/DRD today announced a $1.5 million grant for completion of Long Beach’s Harper McCaughan Elementary School.

“This is yet another project funded through our state’s $5.4 billion Katrina Recovery Package, composed of flexible Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds,” Governor Haley Barbour said. “The goals of Mississippi’s recovery remain three fold: providing housing, incenting jobs and rebuilding and improving our public facilities and infrastructure. Certainly completion of McCaughan Elementary School is a major step toward rebuilding a vital public facility that’ll help hasten recovery in Long Beach.”

Specifically, the funding will be sourced from MDA/DRD’s $500 million Community Revitalization Program, one of 17 recovery programs which constitute the $5.4 billion package. “Governor Barbour’s vision of not merely rebuilding, but rebuilding better than ever is certainly reflected in this project,” Jon Mabry MDA/DRD Chief Operations Officer said. “When finished, McCaughan Elementary will be a more storm resistant, modern facility that’ll be much better than it was before. This is a perfect example of how flexible CDBG funds can be used to address specific, locally defined and locally driven needs.”

Contact: Lee Youngblood, Disaster Recovery Division    601.359.5073