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Pro-Garrison petition yields 270 signatures
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Posted on Aug 08 2011
A total of 270 students, mostly from Marianas High School, signed a petition urging Education Commissioner Rita A. Sablan to reinstate former MHS principal Craig Garrison to the Public School System.
The petition, which will be turned over to Sablan today, asks Sablan to reconsider Garrison’s resignation from PSS last month.
Tao Cheng, organizer of the signature campaign, said the petition will be presented with a letter to the commissioner citing specific reasons for Garrison’s reinstatement.
He disclosed that 118 of the 270 signatures were gathered from students who attended summer classes at Saipan Southern High School, while 152 were gathered in an online petition.
In their draft letter for Sablan, the petitioners state that Garrison is a great asset to PSS and that losing his service means a loss for students. The draft letter also enumerated the former principal’s accomplishments.
Cheng said he is confident that the commissioner will make a sound decision since Garrison had already rescinded his resignation. The student believes that more signatures can be gathered if the petition will last until the opening of classes next month. However, he said it is their goal to have Garrison back before classes begin.
Cheng is a former SSHS student before he transferred to MHS. He said he was a witness to the many progressive and positive changes that Garrison enforced in both schools. He said his group received overwhelming support and encouragement from teachers and community members during the petition signing.
PSS has yet to make a decision on Garrison’s fate. Sablan declined to be interviewed yesterday.
Garrison resigned in July, effective Sept. 1, due to irreconcilable differences with Sablan. He was placed on administrative leave a week after submitting his resignation letter. Garrison later filed a complaint against Sablan with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal agency that handles discrimination cases.
Last week, Garrison rescinded his letter of resignation, saying he is willing to take any position within the system.
