PSS: No falsification in Alpino’s transcripts, records

 A Public School System investigation on the grades of 2011 Rota High School valedictorian Katelyn Alpino concluded that there was no falsification or manipulation of records that could have resulted in the CNMI Scholarship Office denying her application for financial aid.

In a Sept. 20 letter to Katelyn’s father, Arthur Alpino, Education Commissioner Rita A. Sablan said the RHS honors committee carefully reviewed the transcripts of all honor students and made the selection of the valedictorian based on PSS and Board of Education policies.

“The records of your daughter’s transcript submitted to the CNMI Scholarship Committee were not falsified, but [are the] actual copy of the official grades earned and attained by your daughter during her enrollment at Rota High School,” said Sablan in her letter.

Sablan said the selection of the honor students was in compliance with PSS regulations and policies.

The elder Alpino, in an Aug. 26 letter to Sablan, alleged that his daughter’s records were falsified to disqualify her from the scholarship grant.

Katelyn Alpino, who graduated valedictorian from Rota High School in June, had applied for an honors scholarship with the CNMI Scholarship Office but was denied due to a low grade point average. What surprised the Alpino family was that both second and third honors got the scholarship awards. Based on PSS policy, the valedictorian has the highest GPA.

Mr. Alpino expressed dissatisfaction with PSS’ findings, citing the inadequate explanation and analysis of his daughter’s grades compared to the two other honor students who came next to her. He hinted that the family is thinking of pursuing legal action.

According to Sablan, PSS and the CNMI Scholarship Office are two separate and independent entities. Hence, their policies may not necessarily conform with each other.

“This is one area where our criteria are not aligned and PSS has no say on how the CNMI Scholarship Committee decides what criteria to use for their honor scholarship eligibility,” added Sablan.

Katelyn Alpino is now enrolled at Philadelphia University, taking up a pre-medicine course. Due to the unexpected denial of her scholarship application this fall semester, she was forced to apply for a student loan to continue her studies.

In an interview last week, Katelyn said she is worried about her future and is being distracted from her studies.

“It was really surprising to find out about this. They said I was denied because of my low GPA and I was the class valedictorian. I don’t understand this at all. It affects my plans in a big way because this scholarship plays a big role with how I am supposed to fund my college education. I personally feel as if I was deprived of this and I hope that there is an investigation about this because it’s unfair,” she told Saipan Tribune.