New formula: $11.5M for NMI schools

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Marianas schools are getting $11.5 million in federal Title IA education funds this year, Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) said yesterday. The increase—$4.1 million more over last year—comes from the new funding formula for island schools that Sablan was able to include in the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015.

Students and teachers will have more computers to work with in the schools, as a result of the new money.

The Public School System plans to provide more school-to-work training opportunities for students.

Thirty percent of the $11.5 million is available this month and the remainder in October.

This is the first year that Sablan’s new funding formula kicks in, and the increased funding should now continue every year.

“Increasing federal education funding for the Marianas was my number one goal, when I was sworn in in 2009,” Sablan said. “We were immediately successful with the $44 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act school funding. Shortly after we got another $8 million that paid for PSS teachers’ salaries in the dark days of the recession.

“But I always had my eyes set on getting the funding formula for insular areas improved in Title IA of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Because that change is not one time. That change means millions of dollars more for our schools year after year after year.”

It was not until 2015, however, that the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was finally reauthorized, giving Sablan the legislative opportunity he had been looking for.

“I was a member of the Education Committee and for six years I had laid the groundwork, educating other members and number-crunching with Congressional Research Service staff. It was only because of those many years of preparation that we were able to get a change for the insular areas in the Title IA formula.

“In fact, my amendment was the only change allowed in the national system for distributing the Title IA money. Even leading members of the Senate, who tried to get the formula adjusted, could not.”

According to PSS officials, the new money will benefit students and teachers directly by making more iPads and laptops available for their use.

PSS also plans to expand the co-op program, which puts high school students in the workplace. Many are able to secure national certification from the Hotel and Lodging Association through the co-op’s partnership with the Latte Training Academy.

“Another program that PSS will be able to grow is the training for K-3rd grade teachers on how to help students be reading on grade level by the end of third grade,” Sablan explained.

“Third grade is the time when students make the transition from learning to read to reading to learn. So, it is very important that our kids have the strongest possible reading skills at that critical point in their educational careers.”

An expanded wellness and physical education program, focused on making the right food choices and getting 60 minutes of exercise every school day, will also benefit from the new federal money. And PSS plans to fund more student competitions.

“PSS has many plans for the new funding; and, of course, these may change over time,” Congressman Kilili commented. “What is important is that year after year this money is going to be improving the quality of education students in the Marianas receive.

“As those students become adults, the education they have and how they use it is going to make life better for all of us in the Marianas.

“I truly believe that education is the best investment we can make.

“This new funding formula and the increased money it gives us will allow us to invest even more—in our kids today and in a better future for us all.” (PR)