A balance to PSS reporting

First, I want to commend the Commissioner and her staff for their work in developing the Public Service presentation about the school system, which was informative and impressive. It is important that this type of reporting continues because it helps educate the public and the government about what is taking place within our school system. I’m sure all the stakeholders in our education system appreciate the report and are looking forward to PSS meeting the proposed projections.

However, the balancing of the TV presentation did not take place on film but in the newspaper and I want to thank the reporters on Education from the printed media, Mr. Marconi Calindas (Saipan Tribune) for his vigilance on education and Ms. Moneth G. Deposa (Marianas Variety) for her investigative work in reporting the problems PSS is faced with because she provides the public a very compelling story when you put all of her articles together for the big picture.

If you only saw the TV presentation on the school system, you would think the school system didn’t have any problems but I think we need to balance the public service reporting because the newspapers have generated a totally different picture.

I had seen enough after Friday the 3rd, which is why I decided to write this letter. But more important is the fact that all of PSS’ problems cited in the newspapers are directly related to local funding yet none of these things were mentioned in the public service promotion on TV about the system. The worse part is, these articles only represent a few of the many challenges we are facing because of a lack of local funds.

I thought it is necessary to provide a more complete picture of what is taking place because if we are only going to promote our progress, it is easy to understand why the government has been in denial about our budget when they are getting a very different picture from our reporting. Balanced reporting is a part of the accreditation process for good reasons because it covers the good and the bad with a cloth of accountability.

I believe that if we sell our needs like we sell our progress in these public presentations, it will yield more support and some real results from the government because the government will be held accountable for all of PSS’ shortcomings, or should I say “shortfalls.” A picture is worth a thousands words and if we show how the lack of local funds has negatively” affected the system, I’m sure the Legislature and the Governor will be much more receptive to our request for funding because they are the ultimate sources of accountability for the people.

The Board and the COE have done all they can to tighten the belt of the school system and thankfully they have done a good job with very little. We have maintained the essential programs but now we are “physically” bursting and falling apart from overcrowding and dilapidated facilities. We may not reach the academic goals in the TV presentation because we don’t have adequate buildings and have oversized classrooms, insufficient resources, a shortage of teachers and many other distractions.

The big picture really makes it clear that our facilities have paid a big price so the system could still function academically. Many of our school structures are wooden and old. Their life span is very limited and the articles about the physical status of PSS are clear indicators that these structures have seen better days and time has run out. A disaster in one form or another is just right around the corner. Just the safety and health issues alone offer a plethora of potential detrimental scenarios for students, teachers and even the system. I just pray nothing happens. It should also be noted that repairs of the “physical” structures of PSS are not allowed using federal money, which is why things have gotten so bad because we don’t get enough local funds.

The student enrollment has continued to rise every year but we have been getting the same budget for over half a decade. The school system and its budget must grow with the population, which I’m sure the average person knows but the Legislature has ignored this basic requirement. If it is taking over a year to repair one burned classroom, what can we expect with all the issues listed in the news articles? I hope that, by seeing all of these articles together, our Governor and Legislature will make sure PSS gets the budget requested from now on by separating PSS’ budget from the government’s. Too often PSS’ budget has been caught up in the politics of the government’s budget.

The Legislature has actually been ready to give PSS the budget that was requested on several different occasions in past years but because no consensus could be reached on the government’s budget, PSS was forced to suffer under a continuing resolution, even though the Legislature wanted to give PSS the money. The school system can’t operate for extended periods with the same budget under a continuing resolution because the system must continue to grow with the population, which is why we’re bursting at the seams and falling apart. Funding for education is supposed to increase yearly based on a computation of the increase in student population at the very minimum.

I’m sure that by balancing the reporting, the government and the public will have a more complete picture of the school system. I know we don’t have the money for a quick fix of the many problems but I hope this letter will serve as a reminder not to get in this situation again if and when we get out of this financial crunch. I also hope this letter has helped and will be appreciated.

Ambrose M. Bennett
BOE Teacher Rep