BOE chair shrugs off Bennett’s allegations

Board of Education chair Roman C. Benavente shrugged off Teacher Representative Ambrose Bennett’s attacks against him, saying is not personally affected.

Benavente also expressed the board’s desire to talk to Bennett and have him work with the board in harmony but added that the teacher representative “has always refused” to work with them.

He said Bennett has to understand that he is a part of the board and in the board there is “equity in decisions.”

He described the ongoing acrimony between the board and Bennett as a mere lack of proper communication. He said Bennett should stop hitting the board through the media and that he hopes that Bennett will make himself available for his opinions to be heard and laid down on the table during board meetings.

Benavente said he is not personally affected by Bennett’s claims against him, saying he has “thick skin” that can take whatever Bennett dishes out. “I personally have nothing against him [Bennett].”

Although Bennett had belittled his qualifications as board chair, Benavente said this has not affected him since the entire board knows that there is a rule on this matter.

Bennett had also accused Benavente of backstabbing him when the chair urged the Legislature to transfer the unclaimed lottery funds to the Scholarship Office, rather than divide the money among the teachers, as what Bennett has been pushing for.

Benavente said he is no longer part of the Scholarship Office. “He [Bennett] should also do his homework with regards to this matter.”

He said admitted that problems are always present within the board but “Bennett does not offer solutions that the board could agree for the welfare of student learning in the CNMI.”

He also accused the teacher representative of always wanting publicity.

Benavente said Bennett has been violating several regulations under the board rules but he declined to disclose them as yet. “I would wait for the right time to discuss these and when the time comes I will take actions on these,” Benavente said.

He said what Bennett has created would eventually affect the well-being of students.

Bennett writes the governor

In a related story, Bennett wrote to Gov. Juan N. Babauta yesterday, saying that if the government investigates the board’s complaints against him, the governor should also investigate the entire board.

“The Board of Education, in their request for my removal, have finally opened the door for not only my activities to be reviewed but their own behavior in dealing with the BOE Teacher Representative,” said Bennett.

Responding to a letter from the board about Bennett, press secretary Peter Callaghan had said that Gov. Juan N. Babauta intends to investigate the allegations against the teacher representative.

Bennett said he has been trying to get to the Governor’s Office, the Attorney General and the Public Auditor to help him with his complaints about the board’s conduct but BOE’s autonomous status has stood in the way “and tied your agents’ hands.”

“The board can’t just have it their way alone because for me to be investigated, they must also be investigated,” he said.

Bennett said he is glad to that the governor has decided to investigate, especially when the board writes only one letter and gets an investigation, in contrast to the dozens of letters he has written, which “so far nothing has been done.“

Bennett said he is looking forward to working with the governor to resolve the matter.

Bennett on BOE travel expenses

In an interview with Bennett yesterday, he alleged that the board spends almost $80,000 a year for board member Marja Lee Taitano alone to attend board meetings and activities, “Now everyone knows why she’s making a career on the board,” he said.

He said the chair sends Taitano and other members everywhere but he has not seen a single report or presentation on what they have learned on their travels, which the entire board should benefit from.

“I asked why we were not being briefed about all this travel. I’m still waiting on an answer,” he said.

Benavente denied the alleged spending on Taitano, saying that, as far as the board is concerned, they only allot at least $15,000 for two board members per quarter on their travel expense within Rota and Tinian. “That’s not true,” he said.