BOE, PSS plan for implementation of HLI 18-12

The CNMI Board of Education and Public School System are looking at what needs to be done, now that House Legislative Initiative 18-12 was passed in November, raising from 15 percent to 25 percent PSS’ share of the local budget.

There is no additional amendment or provision within the initiative that sets an effective date for the measure, according to board chair Herman Guerrero, but because the people “overwhelmingly” voted for the initiative, it should be effective immediately when it was officially certified.

“Our legal counsel is looking at whether the current appropriation measure needs to be amended to comply with the constitutional amendment… Perhaps we need to do a little research, and once the governor is sworn in and the new Legislature is sworn in, we will have conversation with them to see what needs to be done,” he told members of the board’s committee on finance, personnel, and administration last Friday.

“This is where we are” on the initiative, he told the committee.

The initiative garnered 7,826 “yes” votes and 3,958 “no” votes in last month’s polls.

Education Commissioner Dr. Rita Sablan said they are now planning for the “implementation” of the new measure.

“We’ve begun to do needs assessment for full-time Kindergarten,” she said.

Full-time Kindergarten, continuous school improvement and modernization of school facilities, class size reduction, and classroom instructional materials and technology were promoted as part of the initiative.

Sablan said schools are working on providing staffing pattern information on “what they will be anticipating next year.”

PSS is also looking at classrooms instructions and materials. “Our plan is to go before the board and adopt a core curriculum instructional material for our K to 12 programs,” she said.

Needs assessment has been completed for this, according to Sablan. She also said they have to look at the “modernization” aspect with regards to chemistry, biology, and math laboratories in schools.

The preliminary work is ongoing, she said, and they hope to have “more solid numbers” presented to the full board later this month.

Sablan described building more classrooms for the Garapan, Oleai, San Vicente, Koblerville, and Gregorio T. Camacho elementary schools as “very, very critical” for implementation of full-time Kindergarten.

Approximately 20 to 24 classrooms are needed, according to her. Right now only Kagman Elementary School and Sinapalo Elementary School have the classrooms for full-time Kindergarten, but more full-time equivalents are needed for these schools.