PSS bemoans cut in proposed PSS budget

The Fitial administration’s proposed budget for the CNMI Public School System in the fiscal year 2011-2011 appropriations bill shows an $8-million cut in the amount being asked by the system.

Herman T. Guerrero, the Board of Education’s fiscal and personnel affairs committee chairman, said yesterday that PSS had asked for a $36 million budget this new fiscal year but the Fitial administration cut this down to just $28 million in the spending plan it submitted to the Legislature.

Board member expressed apprehension yesterday that this “very limited” budget would jeopardize some PSS programs, in turn negatively affecting student learning.

“If you look at this budget [$28 million], we need to figure out how PSS can survive this new fiscal year. We’re talking about an $8-million reduction from what we originally recommended. And with the current fiscal state of the government, the $28 million proposal may further go down when revenue projections continue to decline,” said Guerrero, adding that the school system cannot continue to operate at the same funding level.

Of the $36 million PSS asked for 2012, $31.724 million is budgeted for personnel, $1.575 million is for operations, and $2.7 million is for utility payments.

At the same time, beginning Oct. 1, PSS will be operating without the help of American Recovery Reinvestment Act funds that expired this fiscal year. PSS got $32.2 million in ARRA funds last year, majority of which was used for schools’ modernization, repairs, and renovations.

Because of the government’s budget woes, Guerrero said that some federal grants for public schools may also be affected. PSS gets $30 million to $34 million each fiscal year from federal programs like Head Start, special education, breakfast and lunch meal programs, and others.

The system’s local appropriation for the current fiscal year is $31 million. PSS had asked for $36 million in fiscal year 2012 to help it “transition away” from the federal funds provided by ARRA and the Education Jobs Act.

With just $28 million to be expected this new fiscal year, Guerrero said that PSS has to immediately come up with a contingency plan to mitigate the impact. He said all areas of school operations must be revisited.

“And if this means we need to let go of some programs or cut the number of our teachers, we will look at all these options just to ensure the system will survive,” he told Saipan Tribune.

The CNMI Constitution mandates that at least 20 percent of total local revenue must go to PSS; the $28 million is based on that projection.

PSS earlier disclosed that its student enrollment is expected to increase between 3 and 5 percent this new school year.

In fiscal year 2008, PSS received $35 million from the central government. This was slashed to $32 million in 2009. In 2010 and 2011, the local budget for PSS was pegged at $31 million.

In June, the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics disclosed that the “per child average expenditure” of the CNMI is the second lowest in the nation, spending only $5,753 for each student.