Parents strongly oppose GTC-Tanapag school merger

Several parents of students from Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School expressed strong opposition to any plans of merging the school with other smaller public schools on island, saying this will change the character of GTC and is ultimately not in the best interest of children.

At least seven parents directly appealed yesterday to the Board of Education not to approve the merger.

Due to budgetary concerns, PSS merged the Rota Junior High and Rota High School last school year and renamed it the Dr. Rita Hocog Inos Jr./Sr. High School to save on personnel cost and resources.

Fearing that the same fate might happen to GTC, Lori Serna appealed to both the board and the Public School System leadership not to consider the merger and look at other areas where PSS can generate cost-savings.

GTC, Serna said, has not only met but exceeded her expectations in the three years her child has been in the school.

“I heard that BOE is considering to merge the two schools [Tanapag and GTC]. This will change the character of the school. GTC is fine, it’s a great school and it’s a shining example for other schools. This is not broken and doesn’t need fixing,” she said, adding that PSS, in fact, has rated GTC as among the system’s performing schools with high student achievements and scores.

The overall Teacher of the Year was even from GTC last school year, she added.

John Oliver Gonzales and his wife also urged the board to keep the parents “in the loop” when it comes to planning for the schools and student learning. He asked about the available options that PSS can explore, as well as the worst and best case scenarios for public schools. “Please, we also want to become part of the solution,” Gonzales told the board.

Caleb and Melisa Gatharngeg also spoke out against the merger plan. “Please consider our situation. When you move our school to other schools, it will cost us families more,” Caleb Gatharngeg said.

Two other parents pushed for the continued existence of “local village schools” such as GTC. “If a choice has to be made between luxury on one hand and maintaining local village schools, please make the right decision—keep our village schools open,” one parent said.

GTC principal Charlotte Camacho had only one request to the board: give GTC enough time to prepare, if a decision is made, so it could effectively implement whatever changes need to be made.

Board of Education chair Marylou S. Ada earlier disclosed that the board is evaluating all possible ways on how public schools will survive next school year, where it expects greater challenges due to budget constraints. Besides austerity measures, among these options is the consolidation of small schools and an across-the-board work-hour reduction.

Education Commissioner Dr. Rita A. Sablan told Saipan Tribune yesterday that there was initial discussion about the merger of some schools but no decision has been made yet.

“Although there have been some discussion, there’s never a decision made because we have to look at the data. If the school enrollment continues to decrease, then it will be [done]. PSS needs to be mindful of the [available] resources,” Sablan said after yesterday’s meeting.

She promised that before a decision is made, “PSS will certainly talk to the grassroots—students, teachers, parents—because they play a critical role.”

Sablan commended the parents for coming forward and offering their plans.

When asked about the possibility of merging GTC and Tanapag, she replied: “I really don’t know yet, until the Legislature comes out with the final budget figures.”

The board had proposed a $40-million budget for fiscal year 2013, but the governor’s submission to the Legislature slashed the PSS budget to just $30 million.

“As we look at fiscal year 2013, it’s not really very promising. The governor already transmitted the budget for PSS at $30 million so naturally, there’s going to be a gap. We need to start looking at PSS from within—what more can we trim. We have gone out to teachers, principals, and parents to let them know of the condition of PSS,” added Sablan.