Maratita bids emotional farewell to BOE, as Guerrero, Hofschneider are sworn in

The 13th CNMI State Board of Education concluded yesterday and the 14th BOE began. Herman T. Guerrero was elected board chairman; outgoing member Lucy Blanco-Maratita bid a tearful farewell, and Guerrero and incomer Florine M. Hofschneider were sworn in as board members after winning in last year’s November elections.

The inaugural event awarded Guerrero and Maratita with an Education Service Award for their lengthy commitment as board members.

An emotional Maratita, the board member from Tinian, took to the podium during her special remarks.

“I said I wasn’t going to become this emotional. But seeing everybody up here, and seeing my PSS family and BOE family, has really made me realize how important it is to have camaraderie, to have a good and great leadership,” she said.

She recalled the late education commissioner Dr. Rita Inos, who passed away a several months into Maratita’s first year as board member. She remembered how hurt she was then, as she really looked up to Inos.

But she added that, “What’s interesting is people come forward. People become stronger with these challenges.”

The board and Public School System heard “rumblings in the crowd” as they moved to get the system more standardized in the past, she said. But she added that leadership is what “pulls things together.”

She commended Guerrero for his “institutional knowledge,” and joked that, “If you look around his toes, you might find cobwebs there.”

She recognized board member Denise King, who, with her, shared the important task of continuing to make sure the “unique needs” of the islands of Rota and Tinian were met.

She commended board member Mary Lou Ada for her financial perspective, and “always asking the great questions,” as well as member Janice Tenorio, whom she felt had a “pulse on the community.”

To the incoming Hofschneider, she said, “I welcome you. You are going to be a great asset to the Board of Education and PSS.”

After Maratita’s remarks, Chief Justice Alexandro C. Castro led the swearing in of Hofschneider and Guerrero. The 14th BOE inaugural meeting and its election of officers commenced after.

Guerrero was nominated and voted in by his fellow board members as chairman of the board. He previously held the position of chair.

Tenorio nominated Ada for vice chair, the motion was seconded, and Ada was subsequently elected to the position.

Ada, in turn, nominated Tenorio for the position of secretary/treasurer, who was subsequently nominated and elected to the position.

Kagman High School’s Ayuyu Battalion Color Guard led the posting and retirement of colors during the event. Marianas High School’s Glee Club sang the CNMI and National anthems.

Yvonne Pangelinan and Derwin Johnson were mistress and master of ceremony, respectively.