PSS eyes $10M aid from Title I grants in 2013

Commonwealth public schools may get about $10 million yearly in federal assistance from the U.S. Department of Education’s Title I grant beginning fiscal year 2013, according to Public School System finance director Richard Waldo.

That is if PSS succeeds in complying with all requirements and mandates of the grant program, which include, among others, proof that all classrooms are staffed with highly qualified personnel who are equipped with the necessary trainings, accreditation of all schools, and consistently good performance of schools.

If this happens, the Commonwealth will be the first territory to avail of these federal monies, Waldo said.

“We’re hoping to be under Title I grant in 2013. If that happens, PSS will be provided $10 million yearly—a substantial amount that could help us alleviate the challenges in our local monies,” Waldo told Saipan Tribune, describing the Title I funds as the “long-term” solution to PSS’ budgetary constraints.

PSS will get just $30 million in local appropriation this fiscal year, covering personnel costs, operational costs, and utilities.

Citing the next 12-month period as “tough times” for the system, Waldo said that President Barrack Obama’s Jobs Act, which is pending in Congress, may serve as a short-term solution to local schools’ budget needs.

The American Jobs Act will provide money to help keep 280,000 teachers on the job nationwide and modernize at least 35,000 public schools, focusing on those most in need. The proposed Act will also pump $50 billion into highways and other transportation infrastructure and $5 billion into upgrading community colleges.

Waldo could not immediately say how much funding may be made available to CNMI schools under this Act.

PSS has 1,157 employees, of which 900 are locally funded. The system spends an average of $1.2 million pay payroll for personnel’s salaries.

“We’re hoping these federal monies go through because it will save PSS in its short- and long-term goals,” he said.

Federal monies are not the only ones that can help PSS pay for operational costs and utilities. Waldo said that each school receives funding from Individual Assistance Plan of the federal government and they will use their individual accounts for operations while fundraisers are also expected to assist with their immediate needs such toiletries and office supplies.