Educate the government

On (or about) the occasion of National Teacher Day, it seems appropriate to discuss teacher appreciation (or lack thereof) in the CNMI.

Today I received a card and a flyer, both extolling the virtues, hard work, and dedication of teachers in the N.M.I. The card came from the administration of the school where I work, and the flyer came from the Public School System central office. Both of these communications seemed heartfelt and sincere, and are appreciated as far as they go. The school where I work generally treats teachers with respect, and does the best it can with the severely restrictive budget it is allocated. The Public School System, in general, does a fairly good job of operating under the diminutive budget given by the central government. Now, alas, I will discuss that central government.

I have lived (and taught) in the CNMI for 10 years now, and PSS is still operating under a continuing resolution (and the same dismal budget) as when I arrived, despite inflation and the opening of two new high schools and one new junior high school. Every administration that comes to power in the CNMI states categorically that it is pro-education, pro-students, and pro-teachers, yet they all see fit to provide inadequate funding to facilitate the smooth functioning of a first class education system. A fairly large high school in the U.S. mainland (of about 4,000 students) has a budget significantly higher than the whole of PSS (containing about 12,000 students). The inadequacy of the allotted funds has caused severe problems for PSS and has most definitely hampered the education of the youth of the CNMI.

Some of the effects of this minuscule budget are: the inability of schools to properly maintain their facilities, to provide substitute teachers, to provide custodians to clean classes, and to provide the yearly Wage Grade Increases for teachers (which are clearly reflected in the published pay scale and which all mainland American teachers receive).

Research plainly shows that positive teacher retention fosters a more successful education for students. It is no secret that teacher retention in the CNMI is dismal, and the above stated situations constitute the reasons why. The starting salary for teachers in the CNMI is fairly competitive with that of mainland teachers; however, for every year that a teacher works in the CNMI and receives no Wage Grade Increase, that teachers falls farther and farther behind mainland teachers. The Wage Grade Increase is not a pay raise or gift (as has been sometimes described in the newspapers); it is an agreement (in writing) as to the salary of a teacher. It is a promise given when a teacher is hired. In actuality, all (public school) teachers in the CNMI are working somewhere between 10 percent and 30 percent below their officially published salaries. Now, rumor has it that an additional 10 percent pay cut may be in the works. It is not difficult to see why teachers (predominantly in rigorous academic areas) do not stay long in the CNMI. The majority of (public school) teachers here feel unappreciated and disrespected.

This is compounded by the waste of resources in many other government departments that are severely overstaffed with people who have little legitimate work to do, yet draw full time salaries. We at PSS have been understaffed and underfunded for years, while many other departments keep hiring additional workers for nonexistent jobs, as if it were some government welfare program. The government must stop hiring these unneeded workers, and consolidate jobs and job descriptions, so that three (in all reality) part-time jobs become one actual full-time position. They could then replace those three (so called) full-time paid employees with one real full-time employee, and in the process they would reduce spending considerably. Every time an employee retires or resigns it is an opportunity to consolidate jobs and save money. All that is needed is to fill the openings internally in the department while consolidating jobs and job descriptions. Very soon there are less positions in the department, everyone has a real full-time job, no one has been fired, no one has had their wages cut, and the department has drastically reduced expenditures. It is not all that complicated.

It is ludicrous that education, students, and teachers should suffer because an administration (and its bureaucrats) feels it needs to employ all its friends, relatives, and cronies. PSS is barely functioning with the laughable budget supplied by the central government. If, perchance, that budget were to be decreased in any way, or PSS were to be burdened with any further expenditures (electricity payments, increased retirement contributions, etc.), schools would be unable to open. Also, due to the reasons I have previously stated, many of our most qualified and dedicated teachers are virtually running for the airport to go and work somewhere else. In fact, so many are leaving that, simply due to the lack of teachers, it is unclear if schools will open on time (or at all) next school year.

So, on this auspicious occasion of National Teacher Day I would like to thank the school administrations for doing as well as they have, considering the circumstances and the budgets sent down from PSS. I would also like to thank PSS for treading water, juggling balls, or whatever they have been doing to be able to run the system on basically a wink and a nod.

Now, for my closing remarks to the central government of the CNMI: Wake up, pay attention, and pay up! If you do not wake up very soon, when you do, you will not have a school system, and that will be some waking nightmare, won’t it! Oh, by the way…happy National Teacher Day everyone.

Thomas D. Wilkins
Teacher