PSS wants full $50M budget

Even as the House of Representatives yesterday tackled revisions made by the Senate to Public School System’s proposed $50 million budget for fiscal year 2005-2006, the PSS reiterated its preference to the original version passed by the lower chamber.

“We prefer the House version,” said Board of Education chairman Roman C. Benavente, adding that the House version of the bill would guarantee PSS the $50 million budget request.

The board chairman said PSS acting Commissioner of Education David M. Borja, Federal Programs Advisor Tim Thornbourgh, director of finance Richard Waldo, and BOE special assistant Perry Tenorio also attended yesterday’s session up in Capitol Hill.

Benavente said all of them are hoping the deliberations would end in an amicable solution with PSS getting the full $50 million it requested.

“We do need the money as much as possible. We are all hopeful that they [House] will expedite the process,” said Benavente.

He added that while the budget has not yet been passed, PSS officials have been meeting a lot lately to streamline plans to help alleviate the problems it is encountering right now due to its funding shortage.

“There are a lot of options we are looking at right now, steps that we have to take.”

In October, the board and Commissioner of Education Rita H. Inos forwarded a letter to House Speaker Benigno R. Fitial and Sen. Joaquin Adriano urging the passage of the bill.

Although the commissioner was grateful that the Senate passed a budget, PSS said it still preferred the House version of the appropriation bill.

Inos said PSS wants the House version of the bill, which earmarks the full $50 million budget requested by the agency. The Senate version, she said, only earmarks the deficit reduction funds for PSS in fiscal year 2006.

“[This would] present problems as it conflicts with the earmarking provisions of HB 14-369, Textbook Relief Act, which both the House and Senate passed earlier this month,” said Inos.

She added that earmarking the deficit reduction funds—$2 million—for repairs and renovation and then requesting that Compact Impact funds of $5.2 million be reserved for public health only would present problems for the PSS. This is because the repairs and renovations in all schools that need maintenance and repairs would exceed $2 million.

“We recommend that if you wish to earmark the deficit reduction account, then reserve the deficit reduction amount for public health and provide PSS with the $50 million budget exactly as passed by the House,” said Inos.

She added that the PSS would still prefer the full $50 million appropriation developed by the House, should both upper and lower chambers appoint “conferees” to resolve the differences between the two bills.

The Senate passed last month by unanimous vote a $206 million budget proposal that would cut the appropriations of all but five agencies by 17 to 20 percent.

Senators transmitted the draft budget to the House of Representatives, along with a challenge for the Lower House to follow suit. The bill approved by the Senate amended House Bill 14-371, which provided the Public School System a $50 million budget and left everybody else’s budget unspecified.

The Senate Committee on Fiscal Affairs, headed by Sen. Joseph Mendiola, amended the bill by creating a breakdown of the $206.5 million resources identified as available to the Commonwealth for fiscal year 2006.

The Senate version of the FY 2006 appropriation bill sets the PSS’ funding level at $48 million.