PSS still hopeful on Compact Impact

Commissioner of Education Rita H. Inos said the Public School System is still hopeful it would receive a reasonable share of the $5.2 million Compact Impact Fund awarded to the CNMI government annually by the Department of Interior.

Inos, whose services has been extended for another school year, said she is confident the government would still follow through on its original promise to earmark the lion’s share of the monies to education.

She said the money would go a long way toward addressing the immediate needs of PSS such as school repairs and maintenance, among others.

“Let’s just make the most out of what we have and support each other,” she said.

The previous Babauta administration had promised PSS that it would get the full Compact Impact Fund for four years, which is worth more than $20 million.

The current administration of Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, however, said it is not accountable to the former administration’s promise and said the fund should instead be distributed to government agencies that are also experiencing budget constraints like the Department of Public Health, Department of Public Safety, among others.

The governor said he would be rescinding the previous administration’s promise to allocate the entire $5.2 million Compact Impact funding to PSS. Instead, he would distribute the monies to all government agencies affected by the current cash shortfall.

His office, though, has yet to determine how much each government agency would receive from the Compact Impact funding.

Fitial also disclosed that it is likely that Public Health would get the “lion’s share” of the Compact Impact fund. He said the PSS has not presented a viable justification on how it would use the money.

Acting Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez said earlier that the health office has a more direct hit in terms of the impact of providing better health services in the CNMI.

In its original plan, which assumed that it would be getting the entire $5.2 million Compact Impart fund, PSS was supposed to undertake electrical upgrades in 20 schools as well as repair or replace old air-conditioning systems, upgrade classroom lighting, and undergo termite treatment and repairs in school buildings.

The PSS’ earlier two-year proposal for the Compact funding was a combination of $10.3 million that should also allow PSS to address some “critical systemic” needs.

The revised proposal also intended to fund PSS’ interscholastic sports programs. Additional computers, laptops, and LCD projectors would also be acquired with the Compact money.

The proposal also included merit increases to CNMI public school teachers who pass the PRAXIS certification exam.