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PSS Compact Funds used to pay personnel
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Posted on May 01 2008
The Public School System had used its second set of $4 million in Compact Funds to pay for personnel in Fiscal Year 2007.
The compact funds issued to PSS was originally intended for maintenance and repair of school facilities.
According to Education Commissioner David Borja, PSS had initially asked for $4 million over a two-year period—$2 million in 2006 and $2 million in 2007.
“The first $2 million we did use in 2006 for maintenance and repair of our school facilities and design work of projects,” Borja said.
However, in FY 2007, PSS experienced a funding shortfall due to the 15.56 percent proportional reduction in its budget amount of $38.7 million.
Although earmarked for maintenance and repairs, the second $2 million, with the approval of the Board of Education, was used to pay personnel in FY 2007, Borja said.
In 2004, PSS had aggressively lobbied for a share in the Compact funds, saying that its immediate needs even exceed the available annual grant of $5.1 million.
In January 2004, PSS submitted a $5.6 million funding request to cover the educational-related costs of Freely Associated States students in the CNMI.
PSS had said that $1.8 million would be needed for personnel and operating support cost of FAS students, $2.6 million for the classroom needs of FAS students, and $1.25 million for buses.
There are approximately 300 FAS students enrolled with PSS of the 10,742 student population of K-12.
The Compact funding of $5.1 million is the CNMI’s share in the $30 million federal appropriation to compensate territories on FAS migration-related costs.
The Compact legislation provides that $30 million will be divided each year for 20 years among the CNMI, Guam, Hawaii, and American Samoa to help these jurisdictions deal with the effects of migration from FSM, Palau and the Marshall Islands, which are commonly known as the freely associated states or FAS.
