MARIETTA - Cobb School District executives have asked for Sen. Johnny Isakson's help as they await a FEMA declaration of whether the flooded Clarkdale Elementary School site is suitable for rebuilding.

"The Cobb County School District is very concerned that FEMA may deny our request for permanent relocation for Clarkdale Elementary. We have unofficially heard that FEMA may deem this flooded site as safe," Michelle Luckett, the assistant to Superintendent Fred Sanderson, wrote in an e-mail sent Tuesday to a member of Isakson's staff. "Attached are photos to demonstrate that this location is obviously unsafe and reiterates that the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map revised in December 2008 is obviously woefully inaccurate. As the pictures show, the map is not off by a foot or two - this site flooded over eight feet deep."

District leaders have already drafted plans for a new Clarkdale Elementary School to be built adjacent to Cooper Middle School. Doug Shepard, who oversees the district's SPLOST program, estimated the new school would cost $18 million.

The district also hopes to receive at least $1.5 million in reimbursements from FEMA, an amount that could be lessened if the Federal Emergency Management Agency finds no problem with rebuilding on the original site.

According to Luckett's e-mail, "This particular penalty alone would cost the District approximately $500,000 - $800,000 in federal assistance." A spokesperson for Isakson confirmed the senator has been in touch with FEMA to see what can be done.

School board members and district officials met with the Clarkdale community on Feb. 2 and received overwhelming response from parents that they want the elementary school rebuilt and on a different site.

Board member David Morgan, who represents the Clarkdale area, said that he believes his constituents would not be happy if the district decided to rebuild on the original site, even if it was approved by FEMA.

"The sense that I get is they definitely want the school rebuilt, and they want to make sure that it won't be flooded again," Morgan said of the Clarkdale community. "And they just want to make sure that they are part of the process."

Shepard and Dr. Gordon Pritz, the associate superintendent, said the district can use money from both SPLOST II and SPLOST III that was budgeted for "undesignated classrooms" to pay for the new, 61-classroom school. The district also expects to get about $6 million from its flood insurance. The district may also be eligible for capital outlay money from the state, although it is not clear how much.

"The district has adequate funding to proceed with Clarkdale, and the board would just have to decide that the 'undesignated' funds would be designated to Clarkdale over other priorities," Shepard said.

On Wednesday, school board members asked Shepard and Pritz to present a firm projection of the project's costs and finance sources at the Feb. 25 board meeting, at which time the board may vote on how to proceed, without waiting on the other government bodies for direction.

Ken Davis, a spokesman for Georgia Emergency Management Agency, said that he is not sure where his agency and its federal counterparts are in evaluating the Clarkdale land.

"It's being processed, and because it involves the rebuilding or relocation of an entire elementary school, it's going to be a long-term issue," Davis said.