Insurance claims for high school flooding top $4.7 million
An aerial view of the high school and the completed classrooms wing roof, at right.
Total insurance claims for the roof flooding and damage to the Columbia Falls High School wing have reached about $4.7 million to date, School District 6 clerk and business manager Dustin Zuffelato said last week.
The classroom wing of the high school was flooded last August during a heavy thunderstorm as crews from Swank Construction had the building exposed for a roof replacement project.
The final bill from Belfor, the company that did the remediation after the flooding, came to just over $3 million alone. Swank also did work on the building, and more is planned this summer, with the lockers set to be replaced in July, along with flooring repairs, repairs to the elevator. Blinds in the classrooms are also to be replaced.
The lockers will cost about $93,000, the flooring about $80,000, other room work about $20,000 and asbestos abatement about $35,000. The blinds will be about $25,000 and the elevator repair about $76,000.
The school’s insurance paid for almost all of the damage, Zuffelato said. The school did have to fund some heating units for the classrooms as they were already old prior to the flooding.
The school’s insurance premiums will also go up in 2026, he noted. The total insurance set aside for all claims in 2025 is currently about $6 million. The district in 2026 will pay $454,197 in liability and property insurance premiums in 2026, an increase of $57,369 from 2023.
Insurance costs have steadily risen over the years.
In 2018 for example, the district had 15 claims for $244,793 and the annual premium was $146,795.
In 2024, it had just three claims for $48,800 but the premium by then had risen to $396,828.
One issue, outside of the significant costs of the roof flooding, is property values have risen as has the cost of repairs. That, in turn increases premiums as well.