St. Louis Public Schools officials proposed reopening three of the district’s seven temporarily closed schools in January during a school board meeting on Monday.
The schools are Washington Montessori Elementary School, Yeatman-Liddell Middle School and Beaumont High School, which houses multiple career and technical programs.
Chief of Operations Square Watson said temporary repairs to the three schools should be completed by Dec. 10. District officials are to present their final proposal to the Board of Education for approval during the Dec. 9 meeting.
Watson provided tentative reopening timelines for the remaining tornado-damaged schools:
- Hickey Elementary School: August 2026
- Ashland Elementary School: December 2026
- Soldan International Studies High School: December 2026
- Sumner High School: December 2026
“It is our intent to repair all of our buildings back to their predamaged condition,” Watson said.
The extended timeline is partly due to the extensive damage to the buildings. It will also take six to eight months for all of the materials to arrive, according to Watson.
Ashland, Soldan and Sumner all require roof, floor, wall and ceiling repairs, as well as window replacements.
Watson also shared that Ashland had been extensively vandalized. Electrical wiring and metal pipes had been ripped out of much of the building as it's sat vacant for nearly six months since the storm.
District officials also provided a revised cost of repair estimate. Initially, the district estimated that the cost of damages was nearly $77 million, but the bill will more likely fall between $5 million and $15 million.
Watson said the initial estimate was based on the assumption that everything damaged would need to be replaced in its entirety. However, after the district’s insurance provider and the Federal Emergency Management Agency provided their estimates, the total estimate has been lowered.
FEMA is expected to cover 85% of the damage, but it’s still unclear when the district will be reimbursed. SEMA is expected to cover 10%, though there has been no confirmation to the district that this will happen. The district is responsible for its insurance deductibles and any additional costs that may arise in the repair process.
SLPS steps in to fill SNAP benefits gap
Missouri residents who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits should start to see partial payments return this week after a back-and-forth in the courts forced the Trump administration to reinstate some of the funds.
In the meantime, school districts, food banks and nonprofit organizations have stepped in to fill the gap.
100% of SLPS students receive free and reduced lunch due to the high number of SNAP recipients in the district.
Deirdra Thomas-Murray, director of the Department for Students in Transition, said the district is prepared to support families.
“We’re in the practice of having items here for our families,” Thomas-Murray said.
She said it’s easier for the district to quickly beef up supplies for families because of the preexisting programs to support its 4,800 homeless students.
Director of Student Support Services LaTisha Smith emphasized that families in need should contact their student’s school so they can be connected with a social worker or school counselor. Families can also stop by the Central Office at 801 N. 11 St. in Downtown for immediate assistance.
“Our department stands ready. This is the work we do. This is our why,” Smith said. “So we're just always ready and prepared to execute services on behalf of our students and families at any given moment.”
Both administrators had one central message: Send your kids to school.
“We offer breakfast, lunch, and if they're participating in the before (and) after school program, their snacks and evening meals,” Thomas-Murray said. “So attendance is key.”
