The Garden Grove Unified School District is now among the many parties seeking compensation following the GKN chemical leak from May, when a tank holding toxic chemicals nearly exploded.
Over 50,000 residents were forced to evacuate Garden Grove from May 22 to May 26, including some areas in the neighboring cities of Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, Westminster and Stanton.
Graduation ceremonies for nearby schools had to be postponed due to the chemical leak — Anaheim’s Kennedy High School, which cancelled its commencement ceremony, even served as an evacuation shelter.
During a Garden Grove school board meeting in late October, board members unanimously voted to file a claim to the state for around $182,000 in expenses incurred while the district was forced to evacuate.
According to the meeting agenda materials, the claim will cover regular employee salaries, overtime pay and a reimbursement for transportation from Orange Unified School District.
If Garden Grove Unified doesn’t receive enough compensation from the state, leaders plan to pursue full reimbursement from GKN instead.
“I don’t think any amount of dollars and cents are going to really make a difference for the people who gave up all their time in our district on the weekend,” school board member Teri Rocco said during the Oct. 20 meeting.
This action comes after GKN opened a $100 million claims fund for all residents and businesses affected by the evacuation order.
The company is also expected to pay $8.5 million to emergency services who responded to the chemical leak and an additional $15 million in civil penalties.
That claims program is open now for residents to apply.
The company finally hosted its long-awaited public town hall on Oct. 27 after months of delays and questions surrounding lack of transparency and accountability. The claims program opened for submissions earlier that day.
As part of the claims program, eligible households can receive up to $300 per night spent in a hotel or Airbnb — with a maximum of five nights eligible for compensation with receipts.
Households will also automatically receive a $500 compensation for loss of use of their residence. No documentation is needed for this claim.
Other provisions include $50 a day per person for meals, and $20 a day per person for transportation for up to five days.
Businesses and workers can also apply for lost profits and lost wages, respectively, with documentation.
Businesses can be compensated for up to $5,000 a day, and workers’ compensation will be based on their hourly pay and their scheduled hours during the evacuation period — with a maximum of $500 a day for up to three days.
“In less than six months, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office is putting up to $100 million back in the pockets of hardworking Orange County residents who were forced out of their homes and businesses during this hazmat incident,” OC District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in an Oct. 19 statement.
“I made it clear from the very beginning of this emergency that I would do everything in my power to make everyone impacted – the residents, the business owners, and the first responders – whole.”
