Gulf Coast State College is pressing forward despite suffering more than $50 million in damage from Hurricane Michael.
Vice President of Administration and Finance John Mercer says all buildings are up and running. Meanwhile, he says the school will not make any changes to its current hurricane plan.
“Again, we’ve done it for years and not needed it but we know for a fact now that it can happen here, and we’ll continue to make those same kind of preparations this year and next year, and so on,” Mercer says.
Mercer encourages students and staff to make their own plans going into the next hurricane season.
“Many of our students and employees did evacuate—many did not. Everybody will tell you its not a situation you want to go through again. I would just say be prepared and act accordingly should something come up,” Mercer says.
Gulf Coast State College is just one of the schools included in the recently passed fee waiver bill,which is a push to increase enrollment for colleges affected by Hurricane Michael.