THE damage to schools in Central Visayas brought by Typhoon Odette (Rai) has ballooned to P10 billion.Department of Education (DepEd) 7 Director Salustiano Jimenez said 2,537 classrooms were destroyed, 2,000 classrooms sustained major damage, while 5,000 classrooms had minor damage.The typhoon also destroyed learning materials, computers, Risograph machines and other equipment inside the schools, Jimenez told SunStar Cebu Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022.According to Jimenez, DepEd’s Central Office has allocated P640 million for the repair and rehabilitation of the classrooms.This is on top of the initial P7.6 million received by the DepEd 7 during the early weeks of January, he said.Jimenez said their office is now processing the release of the funds to the different division offices in the region.However, the construction of new classrooms to replace those that were destroyed will be under the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Works and Highways, said Jimenez.Jimenez said the funds that will be disbursed to Schools Division Offices are intended only for repairs, and not for building new classrooms.Despite the destruction, the regional director is optimistic that all the necessary repairs will be finished before the May elections.“Hopefully, more funds will come to address the concerns,” said Jimenez.Jimenez expressed his gratitude to local government officials and non-government organizations for helping the schools recover from the typhoon.Jimenez said he cannot disclose how much the private sector has contributed for the repair of schools since he is still waiting for the reports from the division offices.In Cebu City, the DepEd Division Office has created a fundraising initiative for the repair of the damaged schools in the city dubbed as “Sinsiyo para sa eskwelahan nga apektado.”Division Superintendent Rhea Mar Angtud said 112 of the 126 schools in Cebu City had been affected when the typhoon struck last Dec. 16.The damage to schools in the city can be summed up to P310 million, said Angtud.Angtud said the program aims to raise funds from alumni and civic organizations to facilitate minor repairs in the affected schools.She said DepEd’s Central Office had downloaded only P30 million for 13 identified schools that will be the venue of the limited face-to-face classes for the next school year.Meanwhile, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Cebu City’s North and South Districts has requested Mayor Michael Rama to have the schools being used as evacuation centers and Covid-19 isolation centers vacated.Comelec Election Officers Marilou Paredes and Edwin Cadungog said in their letter that the school buildings will be utilized as voting centers for the May 2022 elections.The election officers identified the schools as City Central School, Tisa 1 National High Schools, and San Nicolas Elementary School.