Previous Story
DoF: PSS payroll safe, other funds due by Jan. 31
|
Posted on Jan 17 2005
Finance Secretary Fermin Atalig said yesterday that payroll funds for the Public School System personnel would be made available this week.
Atalig said he is in close communications with the Bank of Guam to ensure that personnel payroll would not be interrupted.
“They [PSS] can issue the payroll, I’ll be responsible with the bank,” said Atalig.
At the same time, Atalig said that additional money would be remitted to the Public School System on or before Jan. 31, not Jan. 14 as earlier expected.
The Babauta administration earlier said that $2 million of Compact Impact funds would be given to PSS Friday last week.
For his part, Atalig said that he had informed the PSS about the funds’ availability since Jan. 7 or when the government transferred $1.9 million to PSS.
“I never said Friday [Jan. 14]. What I told PSS was that the funds would be given on Jan. 31 or earlier,” said Atalig.
In a letter dated Jan. 7 to Education Commissioner Rita H. Inos, Atalig said that BoG “will cover all checks issued by PSS for period no. 01/2005.”
“We further assured them that the DoF Treasury will transfer funds to cover all pay periods in arrears by Jan. 31, 2005 or earlier,” said Atalig.
PSS officials earlier warned that public schools would have to be shut down if the local government could not provide funds.
PSS said that the government had failed to remit funds for the last two pay periods in December 2004.
PSS, which receives $37.2 million appropriation under the continuing resolution, pays out $1.3 million for personnel every month.
It currently employs a little over 1,000 staff and maintains 20 campuses CNMI-wide.
The Finance Department gave PSS 1.9 million early this month to cover its urgent expenses.
