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BOE allots part of unremitted MOE funds for utility arrears
The Board of Education has officially earmarked a portion of the unremitted maintenance-of-effort funds to satisfy its debt with the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.
This was reached at a recent board meeting, which also acknowledged that the “final amount” hinges on the decision of the U.S. Department of Education whether it will approve or not the request of the CNMI government to change the formula in calculating the MOE owed public schools.
According to Tim Thornburgh, federal programs officer of the Public School System, their records indicate that the central government owes PSS $6 million in MOE funds in fiscal year 2010 alone. Another $2 million, he said, is owed in fiscal year 2011.
“The $6 million [for fiscal year 2010] is the amount the administration agreed on when we were negotiating a year ago on the calculation,” Thornburgh said.
But as to when this payment to CUC will come into play depends on when the central government will remit the amount to PSS.
When the U.S. Department of Education awarded the Commonwealth $44 million in ARRA funds in 2009, it made it a condition that a certain percentage of the government’s budget will be allocated for public education, in what is called the MOE requirement. This is equivalent to 40 cents to a dollar or 25 percent of the overall CNMI government budget.
In an earlier interview with Saipan Tribune, however, Gov. Eloy S. Inos claimed that the final number hasn’t been reached yet pending a decision by the USDOE. The issue over the MOE formula came to light after the CNMI government filed a waiver application for it in 2012. The governor, based on the figures of PSS, admitted that the government has no capability at this time to make the payments.
Because PSS also owes CUC some $5.9 million in utility arrears, the governor recommended a possible “write-off” with CUC.
The CNMI may end up returning the $44 million ARRA funds it got in 2009 if it fails to meet the MOE requirement. MOE must come from the local funds of the government.
