Public school shutdown looms

By Marconi Calindas
Reporter

The Board of Education may have no choice but to suspend operations starting Tuesday next week if the funding crisis besetting the Public School System is not resolved today.

In its first board meeting for the year held yesterday, the CNMI State Board of Education voted to shut down the Commonwealth’s public schools beginning Jan. 11 if the delay in the transfer of their payroll fund is not immediately addressed.

BOE officers led by chair Roman C. Benavente had a follow up meeting with the Office of the Governor Wednesday afternoon, but according to them, the meeting was pointless.

“Nothing came out,” said board member Herman Guererro. “They keep saying that perhaps they are going to have Compact money, which we haven’t received. And today is the day we normally send the money to the bank.”

Education commissioner Rita Hocog Inos said that she would meet school principals at 8am today at the Marianas High School Pearl Service Center to discuss the situation with them.

“I’m going to convince the principals and we’re going to discuss what the board has directed me in the event that we don’t have the resources,” she said.

Inos also stressed that if funds are not transferred today, her office will have to send news releases to everyone in CNMI, explaining why they will shutdown school operations on Tuesday.

BOE chair Benavente also expressed his regrets over the decision to shut down schools starting Tuesday.

“What more can I say? Everybody agrees,” he said, “Not only that we don’t have the money, but how can we continue paying for people.”

He also said that, unless the administration releases the money, the school administrators have no choice but to keep the schools closed.

“We cannot pay, how can I make them work, how are they going to be paid?” he asked.

In a letter sent by Inos to the Governor’s Office dated Jan. 5, the commissioner sought Gov. Juan N. Babauta’s help to provide for a total of $3.9 million.

The letter stated that the Finance Department owes PSS local payroll for the month of December in the amount of $1.35 million and previous payroll and operations of $2.55 million.

The letter also mentioned that PSS had to borrow federal funds allotted for other major projects just to cover payroll deficits that have amounted to a staggering $750,000.

That has resulted in vendors no longer willing to take purchase orders from PSS due to the late payments. The letter went on to say that this impasse would continue unless PSS earmarks payment coming from federal funds.

Vendors have also threatened to file a suit against PSS and the CNMI government for the delayed payments. The PSS and the government also may get sued if they don’t remit the latter’s quarterly Business Gross Revenue taxes by the end of January, according to the letter.

Regular classes are supposed to resume on Jan. 11, 2005 for all public schools in the CNMI.

Inos noted that the Commonwealth’s students stand to be the biggest losers from the government’s negligence.

“The students will have an extra day or two of vacation. By law we have to provide 180 days of instruction. So we might short change that 180 days of instruction for the children,” she said.

Benavente added that students would have to remainin their homes when the PSS shutdown happens.

“They would just have to stay home,” said Benavente, “What can we do? We’re not the one controlling the money. It’s the administration; they are the one controlling the money.”

BOE officers also said they are not worried about the repercussions of their decision to shut down operations. The administrators said they are more worried about the students and the teachers.

“It’s not PSS wanting to do this,” said Inos, “We’re forced to do this and forced to be in this situation because of cash [problems].”

Guererro, meanwhile, appealed to the governor to make a decision on the matter. He said that meetings, unfortunately, have not resolved anything.

“He’s vacillating, He is the governor. He can make decisions. He can direct the Secretary of Finance to comply with the law and turn over the money,” he said.

He went on to say that PSS personnel should not be treated as second-class employees.

“If money is short, they should distribute it equally or let his office be the first one not to get paid. I’m expecting the governor to comply with the law, not to play with the law,” said Guerrero.