Investment in education pays huge dividends

An investment in public education reaps big returns for the Commonwealth.

This was the common sentiment of students who spoke favorably of House Legislative Initiative 18-12 that proposes to guarantee a quarter of every dollar of the CNMI budget for public education.

Marianas High School student Nickles Salmon believes the initiative is worth considering by voters this November election.

“It is incumbent upon the voters to give the Public School System the guarantee that it will be able to implement programs aimed at raising the quality of education. With the current situation, I am one of the students who believe that funding truly needs to trickle down to the public schools,” said Salmon.

He said the quality of education suffers in big classes. “We are 40 to 50 students in a class. It’s very disruptive. It’s hard to listen,” he said.

Fellow 12th grade student Pavan Hemlani agrees.

“We really could not pay attention. It is always a struggle to learn,” he said.

Both said that H.L.I. 18-12 will enable their school and other schools in the Commonwealth to hire more teachers, which will reduce student-teacher ratios.

If the initiative succeeds, MHS students, they said, will no longer be walking through flooded walkways.

“We are sometimes late for class as we wait for the rain to stop,” they said. “With more funding, the school may be able to fix its drainage and stop [the] flooding.”

On Tinian, Keithley Marquez said HLI 18-12 means a guaranteed increase in the annual budget for public schools.

“This is what we students demand. We want our school to improve our learning environment by hiring more teachers, providing supplies in the classrooms, and advancing student learning through modern resources.”

The THS student said their school needs more teachers, specifically science teachers, so a bigger PSS budget would allow that, which would also means reduced class sizes.

“If HLI 18-12 gets approved, Tinian High School would have the opportunity to own computers that would benefit students who are taking online classes or simply to make learning easier,” said Marquez.

Marquez said the school is their second home, yet “facilities in our campuses lack maintenance and sanitary resources.”

“Our worn-out buildings and other facilities would be repaired and improved for the safety of all students if only HLI 18-12 gets approved,” Marquez added.

Tinian Jr. Sr. High School student Odorico D. San Nicolas also asked the public to support H.L.I. 18-12.

“We are in a time when we have all these gadgets to help us learn ‘easily’ but even with all this ‘opportunity’ we have nothing to jump-start this advancement,” San Nicolas said. “Why is it that when you walk into a classroom on Saipan, you see technological advancements such as smart boards, projectors, working desktops, and printers? On Tinian, our classrooms have computers and projectors only.”

Not that San Nicolas is complaining over this. His beef is more with Tinian’s lack of teachers, working Internet access, sanitary facilities, and a gym.

“We don’t have enough teachers, but we still can produce top students. We don’t have proper Internet access to meet the demand of required courses online due to the lack of teachers, but we still can produce. The main point being, that even with the lack of resources, our school can produce. However, in order to produce more we need more. And in order to get more we need you to vote yes,” said San Nicolas.

“I recall hearing we would be the future of the CNMI and that is why education is so strongly endorsed. Start now! Voting yes to this proposed budget increase would mean an earlier start for building our leaders. A longer kindergarten program would benefit the younger children by allowing them more time to master basic communication skills—extremely important for future leaders of our community,” he said.

Saipan Southern High School’s Arianne Narvaez believes that increased funding for public schools will help provide more classroom resources, help with renovation, provide more kindergarten programs, and overall help with our education.

Narvaez said that at SSHS, they only have one printer—which means a limited amount of copies for teachers to give students.

“For homework and class work, I do not have a problem doing it online. But when it comes to quizzes and tests, because of the lack of copies our teachers are allowed, we have to project the problem on the board and is given a limited time to match everyone’s pace. My grade could’ve been better. With the help of more funds, we’ll probably be able to get a printer and we will have hard copies for quizzes and tests. Some classrooms don’t have a working projector either!” she said.

She also sees an increased funding could help rehabilitate old facilities and provide students with a safe environment conducive to learning.

“So many schools have paints peeling off from the walls, holes on the roof, cracks in the ceilings, restrooms with unusable toilets, and things that could be renovated. With a cleaner and repaired school, students will feel more safe and comfortable and can learn in this better environment.”

She also echoed Dr. Rita Sablan’s statement that children could not attend kindergarten because of the lack of teachers and programs for them.

Narvaez said, “Our future depends on our foundation and for most kids kindergarten is our foundation. To have more leaders, more successful students, we need these kindergarten programs.”

For SSHS senior Loria Dee T. Hocog, HLI 18-12 is a very important initiative that was crafted to benefit all students. “It is important because it will provide a better educational experience for all of us,” she said.

As to the four initiatives under H.L.I. 18-12, Hocog said these four initiatives will allow students to have the learning experience they deserve and bring them up to par with their peers nationwide.

“It will provide funding for the kindergarten program, an important stepping stone in the education of a student because this is where the student is introduced to the classroom environment, where the student starts learning how to interact with others, and more.  This initiative will also give the teachers an opportunity to add more lessons and rigorous materials that will challenge and keep the students motivated and eager to learn.”

She also said the modernization and updates with technology and instructional materials will allow students to receive up-to-date education, like what is offered in the mainland, to prepare each student for college.

“All the four keys under this initiative will help each student and give them a chance at a better education and further grease their wheels and stir them toward a better and brighter future,” said Hocog.

Kagman High School student Wendy Nicholas agrees that the initiative needs the community’s support.

“It’s important to me as a student because with 18-12, I won’t ever have to complain about our classes being hot due to broken air-conditioning units we can’t afford to fix.  H.L.I. 18-12 benefits me as a student because it will help us with materials that are needed in our classroom.  The passage of 18-12 will help not only the teachers but also the students,” she said.

Fellow 12th grade student Lisa Marie Guzman says the initiative will help create a much better learning environment.

“We want our school to be clean. We can’t work in a dirty environment. H.L.I 18-12 will provide more money to provide the cleaning supplies needed to keep our campus clean,” she said. (PSS)