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PSS prepares budget proposals
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Posted on Feb 16 1999
The Public School System is preparing three budget reports for the next fiscal year that will reconcile academic aspirations with the present financial status.
According to acting Fiscal and Budget Officer William Matson, the first report is what others will consider as “ambitious”. It takes into account Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio’s request for a strategic plan from each government agency.
School principals were asked to develop strategic plans based on their respective accreditation requirement. Almost all public schools are preparing for the accreditation visit this year. Such plans will need sufficient funding support from the government.
The second report looks at $37.7 million as the budget to be appropriated for PSS next year. The amount is based on what the Planning and Budget had earlier indicated to PSS, Matson said. This is also the current revised budget for PSS from its original appropriation of $42 million.
“We have asked the schools on how they will live with the $37.7 million budget,” he said.
In addition, the Board of Education has asked his office to prepare for a worst case scenario using the $32 million figure. The Board used the $200,000 million projected revenue for next year and computed the 15 percent Constitutional guarantee to come up with the third possible budget scenario.
“In one sense people would say that there’s no way for us to live with $32 million. One can also argue that you may not have enough for the people you have or to buy things, but $32 million is still $32 million. That’s a lot of money and it might speak of the quality and quantity of what we can do. But it should mean that we can do it,” he said.
PSS is scheduled to transmit its budget proposals next week to the Governor’s Office, he said.
