‘This would cripple the CNMI’

Board of Education chair Janice Tenorio fears that once the injunction to enforce the CNMI Supreme Court’s ruling is carried out, it would cause a ripple effect, inevitable crippling the entire CNMI in the process.

BOE voted 3-2 during a special board meeting last Wednesday on a motion to file an injunction against the CNMI government regarding the funds owed to the Public School System.

According to Tenorio, she strongly disagrees with the decision to carry out the injunction to sue parties within the central government at this time, considering the lack of revenue coming in following the novel coronavirus outbreak, because the entire CNMI is suffering following the recent outbreak of COVID-2019.

Tenorio added that the central government has always been a partner of the educational system, a sibling even, and by filing the injunction while the economy is down, is like “fighting with a helpless sibling” and “pulling at each other’s hair.”

Tenorio and vice chair Herman Atalig voted no to the injunction, while Phillip Mendiola-Long, Marylou Ada, and Andrew Orsini voted yes.

PSS legal counsel Tiberius Mocanu explained that the injunction would ask the CNMI Supreme Court to enforce its ruling in the certified question, forcing the government to change the budget and allocate 25% of the general fund to PSS.

“The governor would be one of the parties to get sued because the certified question doesn’t mean that the budget changes until someone changes it. In order to force the government to enforce it, you have to bring the lawsuit,” he said.

Atalig said that an injunction is selfish given the current circumstance and it would just be like kicking someone who is already lying on the floor.

“We can ask, and we can demand, as much as we want, but our government cannot and will not provide us with the financial assistance at this time. The injunction we are asking is wrong timing, we could at least defer the injunction until our government is back on its feet. Our government is lying on the ground and we are fighting with people who cannot fight back,” he said.

However, Orsini said that the mandate is not for them, but for the students who serve as the future of the CNMI.

“I swore that I would do, to the best of my ability, what I can to help this institution. We don’t want our children’s education, jeopardized. It’s the government’s duty to help us and it’s also the Legislature’s duty to find revenue.

Orsini added that education is essential but it doesn’t seem that way with the government given that PSS is still under austerity from last year and must make more cuts on top of the steep cuts already made.

“There is a category of people essential, or non-essential. Are we essential to this government or not, if not, then close the schools. If you cannot afford this institution, then shut it down. If the government feels that the education of their children is important, they have to do something about it,” he said.

Orsini added that it’s just right to throw the burden back to the government, the burden should not fall on PSS.

“How long will these financial issues last? How long will we continue to cut? For me, I want to throw this burden back at them and let them figure out what they want to do,” Orsini said.

Office of the Governor press secretary Kevin Bautista said in an official statement that it is disappointing that members of BOE have decided to go this route after the collective agreement between the Office of the Governor, BOE, the Legislature, and the AG’s Office to move forward together after the recent court opinion.

“In light of the coronavirus outbreak, the unanticipated downturn of our economy, and our ongoing recovery period, every department, agency, and public service is affected whether we like it or not. This action by the board will further exacerbate the government’s ongoing struggles to keep all public services afloat, including educational services and salaries of teachers at PSS,” he said.

Bautista explained that multiple revenue streams of the CNMI economy have been shut down due to the unanticipated novel coronavirus outbreak.

“Our administration is looking out for the entire Commonwealth as a whole—both in the public and private sectors. All areas are making cuts because there is little money coming into the CNMI. Certain members of the BOE are not being diligent in truly understanding our economic situation because when there are no tourists coming in, it means no revenue to fund services,” he said.

Bautista said that the government values the education of the CNMI children and the hard work of local teachers.

“But we know that when there’s no money coming into our revenue streams, cuts have had to be made across the board. Not arbitrarily. We do this just to keep public services funded at appropriate levels. That’s what real leaders do during a time of economic crisis,” he said.