BOE opposes 10-year contract for PSS employees

The CNMI Board of Education is strongly opposed to amending the existing education law that would allow Public School System employees to be given 10-year contracts to protect from termination without cause.

Rep. Stanley Torres (Ind-Saipan) introduced House Bill 17-182, which amends the Education Act of 1988, in the height of the controversy over the alleged firing of over 20 highly qualified teachers by Marianas High School principal Craig Garrison.

This legislation requires PSS to adopt and administer a merit personnel system so that all terminations and non-renewals are processed through an adopted grievance proceeding “and only with cause.” In the bill’s findings, Torres said PSS employs many teachers and staff members who have “no due process protections when it comes to the termination of their employment.”

Board counsel George Hasselback said the board has three strong contentions in the proposed measure.

He said the only legislative justification that was offered on the bill was that there was no due process protection on PSS employees which he claimed is entirely inaccurate. Hasselback said PSS has a very comprehensive due process protection for personnel which is built in to its regulations such as regulation in employee discipline and employee grievances.

These, and other related policies, will be provided to the Legislature to prove that the bill’s justification is inaccurate.

Hasselback said the passage of the bill would also result in extremely burdensome obligations on PSS because it would create an instant permanent 10-year tenure for every PSS employee.

This means, he said, PSS would not be able to transfer an employee, hire employees freely, and terminate employee when necessary without resorting to a for cause situation.

In essence, he said, this would paralyze the school system. The school system provides two-year employment contract to its personnel including classroom teachers.

The education board also described the legislation as unconstitutional because it would impermissibly interfere with PSS ability to govern itself. The Constitution specifically vested the responsibility in running public schools to BOE through the education superintendent who is the education commissioner.