When all is said and done, Virginia Tech will have incurred $8 million in expenses as a result of the events that occurred on April 16.
The expenses have totaled up in various ways in the aftermath of the tragedy.
Cleaning Norris Hall was a fairly large expense that contributed to the $8 million total. Larry Hincker, university relations, said the that the cleaning consisted of replacing ceilings and floors, installing new doors on the second floor, and removing asbestos from the third floor. Officers were also moved off-campus during the cleaning, which added more to the total.
Refurbishment costs for Norris totaled $417,000, plus an additional $75,000 spent on asbestos removal, Hincker said.
Another expense was the cancellation of conferences scheduled to take place at the Inn at Virginia Tech during the week of April 16 to accommodate those who provided aid during their stays in Blacksburg.
Hincker explained that such revenue lost translated into losing double because the revenue for the people who were supposed to stay at the Inn was lost, and no revenue was gained from those who stayed during the tragedy. Forgiven revenue for hospitality totaled $200,000.
The university had to pay to borrow telecommunications equipment. Maintenance overtime was factored into expenses as well.
"For example, the convocation on Tuesday required hundreds of people working around the clock to prepare for that," Hincker said.
Hardware replacements, as mentioned within previous reports are an on-going assessment for the university. Replacing all the locks for general assignment classrooms cost approximately $90,000, Hincker said.
In addition, the university will continue to move forward with altering every set of door handles in a way so they cannot be chained together. This security measure will cost Tech over $1 million.
Steven K. Edwards, access control manager of building and repair maintenance for the physical plant department at Tech, was unable to comment regarding details of the new door handles.
Additional security measures will be taken into consideration in response to the reports released by Gov. Timothy Kaine.
The university also opened new positions in Cook Counseling Center in May, which are looking to be filled in the near future.
Hincker said that Tech has applied for two grants: the Department of Justice Grant and the Department of Education Grant to help pay for the counseling positions.
Six new positions were also opened for police officers. Some of the positions are for staff and some are for patrol men.
The $8 million total also includes forgiven tuition for the 32 victims.
Free tuition for those who were injured is an expense that will be covered by the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund.
Money donated to the HSMF after October and before December, 31, 2007 will be donated to those directly affected in a supplemental payment made after October. Any money donated after the end of the year will go toward scholarships.
Jay Poole, director for the office of recovery and support said HSMF began on April 16 with a large contribution that was over-nighted by a private donor.
"The university had to find some way to hold the money, that's why the
fund was created," Poole said.
The HSMF has not taken part in any solicitation according to Poole.
As for the $8 million that the university is obligated to budget, there is little reassurance as to where the money will come from.
"Where it comes from remains to be seen...those are all things the number crunchers are working on now," Hincker said.