Focus on Education The Public School System: A Complex Structure Part I By: Anthony Pellegrino

The Constitutional Amendment No.38 effective January, 1988, Article XV, Section l: a) Elementary and Secondary Education: mandates that every person in the Northern Mariana Islands has the right to free, compulsory public elementary and secondary education within age and education levels provided by law. It also creates the PSS as an autonomous agency of the government.

This guaranteed right includes all children whether from the FSM, nonresident employees’ children and foreign investors, children, regardless of nationality In 1998, there were a total of 1,272 such students or 14.4% of the entire student population of 8,834.

In other words any child in the CNMI whether born here or merely residing temporarily here has the right to a free public school education. At times this puts a significant strain on facilities and budget. Also this nonresidency factor must be taken into account when we scream about low test scores because many of these students are not native English speakers.

BOE Policy 601 states that a child shall be admitted to the first grade. of elementary school at the beginning of a school year if the sixth birthday occurs on or before September 1 st of the school year for which entrance application is made. At the present time kindergarten is not mandated but the PSS does offer it. However it is not compulsory. The BOE is studying how to mandate it while early childhood facilities are limited.

BOE Policy 602.1 states that every child between the ages of six and sixteen is required by law to attend a public or nonpublic school, or unless a child has completed the eighth grade or is exempted by the Commissioner with justifiable reason. In other words a child who completes the eighth grade even if he is not sixteen can legally quit school.

Any parent, guardian, or other person who has the responsibility for or care of a child whose attendance at school is obligatory shall send the child to school. To not send the child to school will subject that person to criminal prosecution for violation of applicable laws or regulations.

The Constitution states that administration of the public elementary and secondary education system of the Commonwealth shall be the responsibility of a Commissioner of Education appointed by the Board of Education. The BOE shall formulate policy and exercise control over the public school system through the Commissioner.

The BOE shall have five members elected at large on a nonpartisan basis’ one from the first senatorial districtRota; one from the second senatorial district Tinian; and three from the third senatorial districtSaipan. Each member shall serve a term of four years. The present members are Esther S. Fleming, Chairperson, from
Saipan, Francis H. Diaz, ViceChairperson, from Tinian, Tomas B. Pangelinan from Saipan, Marja Lee Taitano from Rota, and Anthony Pellegrino from Saipan. Please feel free to contact any of them for questions or matters concerning PSS policy. Call 6643711 and ask Jose Mafnas, the technical assistant, to forward your request to any of the Board members.

The governor shall appoint three additional nonvoting members to the Board. One member shall be a student attending public school. This year she is Merced A. Ada, a senior at MHS. It is customary to have a student from each of the three islands rotate. Another member shall be from the nonpublic schools. At present he is Rev. John A. Kinsella of Grace Christian Academy. The eighth member is a public school teacher representative, and he is David Borja, a teacher at MHS.