Guerrero bids farewell to BOE committee

Board of Education member Herman Guerrero poses for a final photo with his Fiscal, Personnel, and Administration committee yesterday. (Erwin Encinares)

Long-time CNMI Board of Education member Herman Guerrero bid farewell to a committee he chairs yesterday, with his final board meeting as a board member this Thursday morning.

Guerrero, chairman of the BOE committee on Fiscal and Personnel Administration, said goodbye to its members as it was his last time presiding the committee as a board member. His last appearance in the board as a member would be this coming Thursday morning, during the BOE meeting.

Guerrero was first elected to serve in the CNMI BOE back in 1999, and has been board chair for at least six years within his tenure. All in all, Guerrero has served about five consecutive terms in the board.

The long-time member noted in a previous interview that he would not be seeking reelection since it is unconstitutional. However, he wishes that the board even without him would continue to prioritize students in their agenda.

“We should encourage the students to grow and flourish…the board should do it as a team. It is the only way you could move ahead,” he said.

Guerrero noted that he has met with incoming BOE member Andrew Orsini, who would be representing Saipan. He reportedly approached Guerrero for tips on the position.

“…You need to listen to what is going on, try to get a feel of what is happening within the system. You cannot expect to know everything, even if you think you know everything from the outside,” he said as some of the tips he gave Orsini. “My [advice] is listen. Do not try to underestimate the Public School System commissioner as well,” he added.

“The board’s responsibility is to come up with rules and regulations, so they should not interfere too much [with PSS] and running the school system, because that is not their role,” he continued.

He noted that his advice is from the CNMI Constitution.

Besides his contributions to the educational system in the CNMI, Guerrero has also been active in politics. He served as the special advisor to the U.S. delegation of the United Nations Trusteeship Council in 1981 and from 1983 through 1986, and was also an assistant to the resident representative to the U.S. for the CNMI from 1979 through January 1990.

In 1992 through 1994, Guerrero was elected into office at the House of Representatives for the 8th CNMI Legislature, and also served as the president and member of the second and third NMI Constitutional Conventions in 1985 and 1995, while in 1994 through 1997, he served as the chairman of the Advisory Commission on Compensations of the governor, lieutenant governor, legislators, justices, and judges, mayors, and resident representative of the U.S.

Besides the political career, Guerrero also actively participated in community events as a member of the Hawaii Student Financial Aid Association from 1973 to 1975, a member of the Saipan Municipal Scholarship Board from 1977 to 1979, a judge of the 1st Miss CNMI Teen Pageant in 1992 and the 28th annual Miss Guam Universe pageant in 1991; Saipan Chamber of Commerce director from 1989 to 1992, and more.

“I don’t know… Perhaps I haven’t thought too much of it yet. I don’t like sitting around doing nothing, I need to do something—maybe help out in other areas, but I need to do something,” Guerrero said in an interview, responding to a question of his plans about the near future.

“I’ll try to get a business license to see if anybody is interested in [my assistance], I have it [the business license],” he said, adding that both the public and private sectors are within his scope.