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SSHS junior sworn in as BOE student rep
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Posted on Nov 03 2008
Francine Babauta is the newest member of the Public School System’s Board of Education.
Babauta, a junior at Saipan Southern High School, was sworn in as the student representative at last week’s regularly scheduled meeting.
“I hope to gain a better perspective on what PSS does to gain experience for my future and understand how they [the Board members] make decisions,” Babauta said.
As a student representative, Babauta will not vote on issues but will be able share her point of view with the Board, something BOE chair Lucy Blanco-Maratita said the Board looks forward to.
“We encourage her to work with the various student groups from our schools and Youth Congress to offer recommendations that could improve our school system,” Blanco-Maratita said in an e-mail.
One of the issues Babauta said she is passionate about is class size. Some classes have 46 students, she said, and her PE class currently has 60 students.
“So it’s hard to learn,” she said, adding that she appreciates the work PSS and BOE officials have already done to combat the problem.
SSHS’s principal, Peter Le’au, nominated Babauta for the position after her sophomore English teacher recommended her. Gov. Benigno Fitial appointed her to the Board in September.
Blanco-Maratita said student representatives rotate between Saipan, Rota and Tinian. Because Saipan Southern High is a new school, this is the first time they have had a student representative on the Board.
Louvele Borja, from Tinian High School, was the last student representative. She graduated in June.
Meanwhile, Blanco-Maratita said BOE members are still waiting for Fitial to appoint a teacher representative to the Board. Board members wrote a reminder letter to the governor in early October, but have not heard back from him, she said.
