Public schools to resume classes Tuesday

Classes in public schools will resume on Tuesday, according to Education Commissioner Rita H. Inos, soon after the Board of Education received confirmation yesterday of getting the funding it needed to cover immediate payroll needs.

During an urgent meeting with school principals yesterday morning at the Marianas High School, Inos said her office had received a facsimile letter from Finance Secretary Fermin M. Atalig at 8:46am informing the BOE that the Bank of Guam would cover all checks issued by the Public School System for the first pay period of 2005. Atalig also reportedly said in the letter that the Treasury Division would transfer funds to cover all pay periods in arrears by Jan. 31, 2005, or earlier.

PSS, however, insisted that the government should forward the funds by 4:30pm yesterday if it does not want the school shutdown to push through. The Finance Department managed to remit the amount earlier than the deadline. This means public schools will open as scheduled next week.

PSS officials had gathered the school principals in a meeting to discuss with them the BOE’s decision during its meeting Thursday that they would resort to a shutdown of schools on Jan. 11 onwards if funds are not transferred to PSS for recent and back payrolls, plus other operational funds.

The meeting was well attended by Saipan school principals, with the Rota High School principal and Tinian Elementary School officials connected through videoconference. The Tinian Elementary School principal flew in for the actual meeting.

Present in the two-hour discussion were principals from Dan Dan Elementary School, Garapan Elementary School, Hopwood Junior High School, WSR Elementary School, Tanapag Elementary School, Sinapalo Elementary School, San Vicente Elementary School, Marianas High School, Kagman Elementary School and others.

Board of Education officials supported the commissioner at this meeting. The re-elected BOE chair, Roman C. Benavente, also spoke in front of the principals, thanking them for their time and understanding with regards to the dilemma the PSS is going through.

PSS Director for Finance Richard Waldo briefly shared with the principals the financial situation of PSS. He said that PSS payroll amounts to $1.2 million, which the Finance Department had failed to remit on time.

“We have the checks but we are not releasing them because we don’t have cash,” he added.

PSS had to find means to pay its personnel last month. The office opted to use the revenue generated from the school’s food courts, which is technically legal, according to Waldo. “Because with food courts, we have memos stating that we can take food court money for the operation. However, that food court money must be paid back for your operations. We’re going to get that back,” he said.

“If we don’t have the money today we will have it on Monday,” he assured the principals. “Secretary Atalig has talked with the manager of the [Bank of Guam] and the bank will give it until Tuesday since Monday is a bank holiday.” Waldo, however, later confirmed that the $1.9 million is already in the bank, with another $2 million to follow.

Waldo together with associate commissioner David M. Borja met with the Finance Department yesterday at 11am.