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‘Give timeline for Lab School teacher hiring’
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Posted on Jun 27 2004
Saying they are facing a dilemma over the lack of teachers at the Lab School, parents trooped to Friday’s meeting of the Northern Marianas College Board of Regents to get assurance that teachers will be hired soon for the fall program.
“I understand protocol. We know that there’s a process but how about the sense of time and practicality? Where is the assurance that the teachers will be available when class starts in August? What is the timeline?” asked CLS parent Veni Folta during the board meeting.
Another parent, Isabela Guerrero, said, “We don’t want to pressure the board but parents want to hear that you’re hiring teachers.”
“I hope you understand that we need to decide now where to send our children for the next school year. It’s about our children’s education. I need some assurance,” she said.
NMC faculty and CLS parent Vince Riley said parents “need to hear positive feedback” from the board.
He said that what parents have been hearing are negative things such as teachers leaving the school for lack of funds and a seeming lack of concern by college officials.
In fact, parents are being called to fundraise to be able to hire teachers and keep the school open, he said. The parents were reportedly told to fundraise during a recent meeting attended by acting NMC president Tony Deleon Guerrero and the NMC comptroller.
Board chair Kimberlyn King-Hinds initially said the board could not give any timeframe for the hiring of teachers due to the lack of such a recommendation from the NMC administration. She also noted that NMC has a freeze hiring policy right now.
“We can’t give you a specific timeline,” she said.
Besides, she said the NMC administration has not made any recommendation for hiring teachers. “We’re waiting for the administration,” she said.
After some more pleading from parents, the chair then instructed the leadership, represented yesterday by acting president Kurt Barnes, to submit a report or recommendation by Friday next week.
The board may be able to decide on the hiring issue during its next board meeting, probably by July 9.
CLS, which offers K to 8th grade, has only two teachers left. It needs three more teachers to handle the upper grade levels.
