Payless paydays for PSS?

The Public School System was forced to resort to a financing scheme in December just so it could pay its over 1,000 personnel last month, according to education officials. This lack of funding prompted PSS official to petition the Governor’s Office yesterday for $3.9 million in emergency funds to settle urgent obligations.

“We have no money. We’re totally out of money. We have no money to pay our vendors. We’ve got no money even for payroll. We’re not sure that we can pay our personnel this Friday,” said board of education member Marja Lee Taitano prior to a meeting yesterday with Gov. Juan N. Babauta.

Education deputy commissioner for administration David Borja disclosed that the PSS resorted to financing during the last pay period to meet the payroll obligation.

“[Public] funds didn’t arrive as expected. We had to work out some financing to pay the personnel,” said Borja. He declined to discuss, however, the nature of the financing scheme and where they finally obtained the funds.

Taitano, Borja, together with BOE chair Roman C. Benavente and PSS federal program officer Tim Thornburgh met Gov. Juan N. Babauta yesterday to discuss PSS’ funding needs.

Taitano and Borja said the $3.9 million they are asking for would cover the payment for personnel and vendors.

They said PSS spends $1.3 million a month, mostly for personnel. The PSS, under the continuing resolution, gets $37.2 million a year. Funds are released on a quarterly basis.

Finance Secretary Fermin Atalig said in an interview yesterday that the lack of funds was due to the lack of revenues received during the period.

He is confident, though, that PSS personnel would get paid this week. “We’ll make sure the employees are paid.”

As for the rest of PSS’ funding needs, Atalig said these would probably be met as new business gross revenues taxes are remitted to the government this month.

“Hopefully by the end of January, we can pay them because we expect to collect the BGRT [business gross revenue tax],” he said.

In the past, PSS had tapped federal assistance to stay afloat.

Taitano said yesterday that PSS is flat out zero in terms of available funds. “There’s no hidden funds at PSS,” she said.

The education officials expected the governor to join them yesterday in visiting schools that need immediate repair and maintenance. The governor had agreed in a previous meeting to visit schools to see for himself the repair and construction needs.

Babauta recently committed the entire Compact Impact Funds to PSS in the next five years, totaling over $20 million, which shall be spent for capital improvement projects.

Taitano, chair of the BOE committee on CIP, earlier said that some school facilities are already unsafe for use while others area fast deteriorating due to lack of maintenance.

Among the schools that the PSS officials were expected to show the governor are: GTC, Kagman High School, Kagman Elementary School, Chacha Ocean View, Marianas High School, Garapan, and Hopwood Junior High School.