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PSS swimming pool project postponed
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Posted on Oct 09 2011
The construction of the first-ever swimming pool project of the Public School System has been cancelled this school year despite the successful effort of PSS to secure needed funding for the project.
This after the Fitial administration reprogrammed $200,000 for the swimming pool project to pay the central government’s debt to Commonwealth Utilities Corp.
Last Septmeber, PSS and the Board of Education approved the construction of a swimming pool at the Saipan Southern High School. The facility would have been open to the community and sports organization on island.
SSHS secured a community development block grant from the Northern Marianas Housing Development to realize the project.
SSHS principal Jesse Tudela confirmed to Saipan Tribune the postponement of the project, saying the decision was arrived at by both NMHC and the Fitial administration.
He said the housing agency notified the school about the project’s postponement, citing federal funds were reprogrammed last June by Fitial to pay a portion of the government’s debt to the utilities firm.
Tudela said NMHC, however, indicated in the notice that the project will still be funded in the next program year. The approved $200,000 was supposed to come from the program year 2009 grant through the federally funded CDBG program.
“We’re still hopeful and we’re counting on the words of NMHC. We were notified that the funding for our project was re-allocated to buy fuel for CUC in June, but we were also assured that they will fund it under a different program year grant,” Tudela said.
The Fitial administration, meantime, has yet to issue a comment on the matter.
Saipan Tribune learned that it was during the term of former SSHS principal Craig Garrison when the project was proposed to NMHC. The housing agency, through its yearly community development block grant from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development, approved the needed funding for the project.
PSS earlier said that SSHS anticipates about $7,000 in additional cost to sustain the swimming pool’s operation and maintenance.
