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ON SENATE LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVE 18-03
NMC: Bill restricts college’s ability to keep personnel, grow programs
Northern Marianas College president Dr. Sharon Y. Hart and members of the Board of Regents are opposing a pending legislation that they said would create further chaos to the only community college on island.
Senate Legislative Initiative 18-03 aims to place a cap on government expenditures at a level similar to that of the CNMI budget in fiscal year 2013.
During Friday’s board meeting, college officials ratified their comment on the bill, citing three reasons.
First, they said the legislation would limit NMC’s budget to an amount that is equal to one of the lowest, if not the least, budget it has ever received from the government.
The amount, the college said, restricts NMC’s ability to meet workforce needs, develop new programs, and recruit and retain highly qualified faculty and staff.
Further, the initiative does not identify NMC as a recipient of any surplus funds from the government.
“For these and many other reasons, NMC does not support legislative initiative 18-03,” Hart said in the college’s comments the bill addressed to Sen. Jovita Taimanao (Ind-Rota), chairperson of the Senate Committee on Fiscal Affairs.
The legislative initiative has to be passed by three-fourths of the members of each house and approved by voters. If ratified, this will cap the government’s annual expenditure at $104.3 million.
According to the initiative, the government must address its obligations to the NMI Retirement Fund and land compensation settlement or judgments within its budget. Any surplus revenue, meantime, will be appropriated as additional funds for public health, safety and education programs, among others.
A peer comparison study conducted by NMC indicates that the funding allocation for every student in the only community college on island has been decreasing in years compared to per student allocation received in many states and other peer institutions.
This limited funding affects compliance with accreditation requirements and standards.
