‘Pass ’06 budget or else…’

The Public School System again issued an ultimatum to the government yesterday, saying it would shut down schools if the Legislature fails to pass its budget proposal as soon as possible.

The Board of Education unanimously agreed during a regular monthly meeting on Capitol Hill yesterday that it would close a number of schools if the government does not pass its $50 million budget proposal for school year 2005-2006.

“Let’s just shut down schools and let’s see,” board chair Roman C. Benavente said during the meeting, adding that the government is putting the entire education system in a tight situation. “Either they support us or we shut the schools down.”

Private school teacher representative Scott Norman said that no one in the Legislature takes the PSS seriously when it threatens to shut down schools. “After all, schools are still open,” he said.

Norman suggested that PSS set a deadline for the Legislature to act on the budget and inform the lawmakers the specific actions they would take if the budget remains on the shelf.

Board vice-chair Dino Jones agreed that a deadline must be set by the board to inform the Legislature.

“They’re putting us back into square one,” Benavente said adding that the board must plan ahead and organize a timeframe when to execute such a plan.

He said the board should give the Legislature two to three weeks to decide what to do with the budget and that’s it.

Board member Herman T. Guerrero said the board should pressure lawmakers to pass the budget immediately.

Board secretary and treasurer Marja Lee Taitano even suggested recruiting students for civic actions. She also wants the people of Rota and Tinian to appeal to their lawmakers to act on the budget immediately.

“We’ve come to the Senate and the House and yet they have not squeezed in the budget,” Taitano said.

Benavente said the public should be aware of the current condition of the school system. “It is a very sticky situation that we are in right now,” he told the board. He said the board should gather up as many people and walk to the Senate. He added, though, that the march to the upper chamber would be a last resort before they shut down the schools.

PSS backs House version

Earlier Commissioner of Education Rita H. Inos told the media that she was grateful that the Senate passed a budget for PSS but that her agency still prefers the House version of the appropriation bill.

In a letter addressed to the legislators, Inos said PSS wants the House version of the bill, which earmarks the full $50 million budget requested by the agency.

The Senate version, she said, only earmarks the deficit reduction funds for PSS in fiscal year 2006 that would present problems as it conflicts with the earmarking provisions of HB 14-369, Textbook Relief Act, which both the House and Senate passed earlier this month.

Board member Guerrero said during yesterday’s board meeting that the Senate version is unacceptable and would result in several problems for the next school year.

Inos added that earmarking the deficit reduction funds—which is $2 million—for repairs and renovation and then requesting that Compact Impact funds of $5.2 million be reserved for public health only would present problems for the PSS. This is because the repairs and renovations at all schools that need maintenance and repairs would exceed $2 million.

She recommended that if the Senate wishes to earmark the deficit reduction account, it should reserve the funds for public health and provide PSS with the $50 million budget exactly as passed by the House.

The Commonwealth, she said, has been under continuing resolution for the past two years and PSS will have insufficient funds for the new fiscal year if the Legislature neglects to pass a budget at once.

Inos added that the PSS would still prefer the full $50 million appropriation developed by the House, should both upper and lower chambers appoint “conferees” to resolve the differences between the two bills.

Unanimous vote

The Senate passed two weeks ago by unanimous vote a $206 million budget proposal that would cut the appropriations of all but five agencies by 17 to 20 percent.

The senators transmitted the draft budget to the House of Representatives, along with a challenge for the Lower House to follow suit. The bill approved by the Senate amended House Bill 14-371, which provided PSS a $50 million budget and left everybody else’s budget unspecified.

The Senate Committee on Fiscal Affairs, headed by Sen. Joseph Mendiola, amended the bill by creating a breakdown of the $206.5 million resources identified as available to the Commonwealth for fiscal year 2006.

The Senate version of the FY 2006 appropriation bill sets the PSS’ funding level at $48 million. It also mandates the Department of Finance to allocate to PSS the deficit reduction amounts collected from all government agencies. Mendiola estimated these amounts to reach $2 million and bring PSS’ total funding to its requested $50 million. The use of budget deficit funds for PSS needs will apply for fiscal year 2006 only.