Previous Story
BOE bids farewell to Guerrero, Hofschneider
The CNMI Board of Education bid farewell Friday to two of its long-time members, giving way to a gubernatorial appointment and a newly elected director to join its ranks.
At their last meeting in the BOE building on Capital Hill, the BOE honored Saipan representative Herman Guerrero and Tinian representative Florine Hofschneider for their services.
Guerrero holds the title of longest-serving BOE member at 16 years of service while Hofschneider has three terms under her belt.
“We are going to miss [Guerrero’s] presence. …He is a really dominant figure in our BOE meetings. He has been really helpful and [we rely a lot on] his institutional knowledge on educational issues. We are really going to miss him,” said BOE chair Marylou Ada, who has worked with Guerrero in the BOE for nine years.
Ada noted that she and Guerrero have also worked on other projects even prior to working in the BOE.
“I started working alongside him during the third Constitutional Convention. After that, we served together at the Northern Marianas Humanities Council for four years [before working together again] at the BOE,” Ada recalled.
“I asked him where he is going next because it seems we are always following each other, but it’s a different path this time. I admire the guy very much—he is an inspiration to all of us,” she said. “It would be so unusual to go into a BOE meeting and Herman is not there because he was a permanent fixture in the past.”
Ada also holds Hofschneider in high regard. “Hofschneider represented Tinian with distinction,” said Ada. “…[She] is an educator, so she brings that side of expertise to the table.”
“Both [Guerrero and Hofschneider] are passionate educators,” BOE member Janice Tenorio said, recalling a time when Hofschneider was her boss at the Northern Marianas College. “Her being a board member for the past four years was a great contribution,” she added, citing Hofschneider’s contributions to the Refaluwasch and bilingual language and heritage studies.
The new BOE members would be sworn into office today at the Capital Hill office. Guerrero is limited by the CNMI Constitution to the maximum number of terms while Hofschneider did not seek re-election.
