Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds spoke at a news conference in Rock Valley Aug. 29, 2024, giving an update about flood recovery efforts as the 2024-2025 school year kicks off. (Photo via livestream hosted by Gov. Kim Reynolds)
As the city of Rock Valley recovers from recent severe flooding, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced the opening of a temporary school facility for the Rock Valley Community School District.
Rock Valley students will return to the school classrooms Thursday, Sept. 5, with some middle school classes hosted in the new temporary building. The 7,000-square-foot facility will have six classrooms, bathrooms, offices and a common area for use by 150 students in the Rock Valley district, according to a news release by the governor’s office. The modular school was built by Hegg Construction in under seven weeks, at a cost of $2 million.
Joined by Rock Valley Community School District (RVCSD) and Rock Valley Christian School officials, Reynolds spoke in front of the new temporary building at a news conference Thursday. The governor reflected on her previous visit to Rock Valley in June when the public school building was “an island that was completely surrounded by water.”
“Following the flood, it really did seem unlikely that we could start on time or bring some students back to school,” Reynolds said. “But if I know one thing about this community, where there is a will, there is a way.”
Rock Valley was one of communities that faced the most significant damages from June flooding throughout northwest and north central Iowa. Reynolds said about 40% of the homes in Rock Valley were affected by the floods, in addition to the damages to school facilities, city buildings and businesses.
All permanent public school facilities are still under repair, RVCSD Superintendent Matt Van Voorst said at the news conference. In addition to middle school students taking classes at the temporary facility, some elementary school students will have classes at a local church.
Van Voorst said that directly after the flood, he felt “lonely” as he looked for ways to address the damages and get ready for students to come back for the upcoming school year. But that feeling soon faded as community members, city and state leaders, nearby superintendents and contractors offered to help the district recover and rebuild in the days and weeks following.
“I think, saying the word ‘community’ has taken on a little bit of a new meaning to me,” Van Voorst said. “I think I’m going to bold caps and underline that from now on — community — it really is a whole other meaning.”
Sioux County, where Rock Valley is located, was one of multiple counties approved to receive federal disaster aid and assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency through President Joe Biden’s Major Disaster Declaration in June . Rock Valley schools in disaster-declared areas, both public and private, have access to $80,000 in federal emergency grants for necessities like food and housing for students whose homes were affected by the disaster, according to a release from the governor.
The state Department of Education has also directed nearly $600,000 in available federal education funds to reimburse schools in disaster areas for destroyed instructional materials.
Private companies and organizations, including Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Chevron REG and Corteva are also providing funds and materials to schools in Rock Valley and other disaster-affected communities, like Greenfield, for the 2024-2025 school year.
In addition to efforts assisting the school district, federal and state aid is also available to residents whose their homes and property were damaged by natural disasters. There were 542 homes and 60 businesses in Rock Valley hit by storms, according to the governor’s office, and $12.9 million in FEMA aid has been approved for more than 500 Rock Valley households so far.
In addition to Sioux County, federal assistance has been approved for multiple counties through three disaster declarations for severe weather this year. The governor announced Wednesday that Scott County was also approved for FEMA’s individual assistance program, as well as Dubuque and Jackson counties for Public Assistance for flood-related damages.
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