House eyes additional budget for gov’t scholarship program

The House Ways and Means Committee is scrambling for additional funds to raise the budget earmarked to the government scholarship program from $2.3 million to over $4 million in the next fiscal year, according to legislators.

But the panel has yet to identify revenues from which to source the funding increase, suggesting that other programs may have to be cut to accommodate the needs of local students.

“We are looking at a lot of other programs that we feel could live with what they got under the austerity measures,” said House Majority Floor Leader Ana S. Teregeyo, a member of the committee.

Finance officials earlier have warned several government scholars of smaller financial aid for schoolyear 1999-2000 as they project at least $1.2 million deficit in the funding in light of the continuous economic difficulties confronting the CNMI.

The shortfall stemmed largely from the close to 50 percent reduction in the proposed appropriation for scholarship grants from $4 million in FY 1999 to $2.3 million by the next year, which will be both shared by more than 1,000 students here and off-island.

To deal with the serious cash-flow problem, the Tenorio administration has overhauled the scholarship policy by capping the amount of grants extended to off-island students and eliminating the Educational Assistance Program for part-time students of the Northern Marianas College.

At least $1.9 million will have to be raised to assist these recipients without disrupting their education, according to Ways and Means Committee chair Rep. Karl T. Reyes.

One area the committee hopes will be able to generate much-needed revenues is the anticipated surplus from the proposed budget on acquisition of computers and other hardware for Y2K compliance, which have been provided to some departments and agencies.

“Maybe from there, we can have excess money to be used for scholarships,” the chairman explained. “If they don’t need the hardware, they don’t have to buy now because we are short of money.”

The committee is expected to come up with recommendations later this week on ways to meet the shortfall on scholarship program in time for the submission of the final FY 2000 budget package.

“That’s what we are trying to work on by looking at the priorities. Then make a determination based on whether or not departments and agencies could live (with the budget),” Teregeyo said, “and they have lived well during the austerity period.”

She added, however, they will still distribute whatever money they have identified among the off-island students and those attending NMC.

“We are very much concerned about our students off-island. They require more help than students around on the island,” said the representative.