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TO ADDRESS LOOMING CW CRISIS
Hart cites importance of more resources
The Northern Marianas College can offer more programs to address a looming manpower crisis in the CNMI if it has more funds to work with.
This is essentially the message NMC president Dr. Sharon Hart gave lawmakers during a budget hearing on Capital Hill yesterday.
NMC has proposed a budget of $8.4 million for fiscal year 2016 to fund its personnel expansion and operations. Gov. Eloy S. Inos, however, just asked the Legislature for over $4 million for the college.
The budget trajectory for the NMC seems to be flat, considering that from 2007 to 2015 its budget averaged only $4.4 million.
“Our business is the education business,” Hart said, adding that “it is challenging if you don’t have the resources” and that the NMC cannot be expected to come up with more programs with its present resources.
Hart emphasized that NMC has implemented radical cost-cutting measures, foremost of which is reducing its manpower from more than 200 to a little over 100. It also introduced cost-saving measures for its utilities.
“But we have to hold on to our employees,” Hart said, when asked what the NMC’s top priority will be for its fiscal year 2016 budget.
David J. Attao, NMC dean of Administration and Resource Development, added that NMC faces a daunting challenge to address the training needs of some 400 occupations currently held by CW workers.
Based on NMC’s own reckoning, about $250 million will be needed to replace all CW workers by 2019, or about $42.6 million each year, Attao said.
But the real challenge is that NMC, the Northern Marianas Technical Institute, and the Public School System combined cannot provide the necessary training for all the 400 occupations, Hart said.
In an interview, Hart, however, said she is “optimistic” that lawmakers will support NMC’s call for more funds.
“I truly believe that they [lawmakers] are seeing the great work that we have done in the past year. They may not give the whole budget [$8.4 million] but I’m optimistic they will support the NMC,” Hart said. “An educated community is our engine for growth.”
