Hopwood teachers threaten to sue PSS

The CNMI Public School System could be in deep trouble that may bring about possible disruption of classes in the Commonwealth’s lone government-run junior high school after its teachers threatened to take their case against a top education official to the court.

Hopwood Junior High School tutors and non-teaching staff, who recently signed a petition paper to oust Principal Lourdes Mendiola, have circulated a white paper denouncing alleged libelous statements issued by Education Commissioner Rita H. Inos against them.

“Any further attempts to slander us [the petitioners] regarding this issue may result in a joint law suit. We have the same morals as anyone in the PSS,” they said.

The teachers alleged that Dr. Inos has taken biased positions in favor of Ms. Mendiola which they claimed were evident in the public statements issued by the education commissioner slandering them.

Dr. Inos was not immediately available for comment when contacted.

According to the protesting Hopwood teachers, Dr. Inos never talked to them and has “contaminated the process by making her personal opinion well known to her subordinates at the Central Office.”

“The COE has shown no support for teachers and children by leaving the school in such a hostile atmosphere for over a week before she took real action on the situation,” they added.

The teachers also said they have been branded trouble-makers by the education commissioner for the only reason that they banded together to thwart Ms. Mendiola from her post as Hopwood principal.

“For the COE to make such a horrific statement about teachers under assumption, without an iota of evidence or facts clearly demonstrates the bias that can be found at the very top of the PSS organization,” the said.

The tutors also alleged that the education commissioner has damaged her credibility to protect Ms. Mendiola by putting the teachers down as opposed to seeking out the truth objectively for the welfare of the school.

Hopwood Junior High School has been besieged by two clashing groups since early this year due to alleged inefficient management by the school principal, threatening to compromise the students’ access to learning.

A group of tutors and non-teaching staff signed a petition seeking the ouster of Ms. Mendiola on grounds that she allegedly failed to address pressing problems in the school.

The petition letter was signed by 51 employees of the school, 70 percent of whom are teachers and 40 percent are support staff. Hopwood Junior High employs 85 staff and is home to some 1,300 students.

According to the petition, the quality of education at Hopwood Junior High will continue to deteriorate due to Ms. Mendiola’s lack of effective management skills.

The petition also claims that during the principal’s term, Hopwood Junior High School has deteriorated in the eyes of WASC accreditation team, with a loss of three year accreditation, getting favorable report for only two years.