An open letter to the Legislature

In past years, the revenue received by the CNMI Treasury from Alien Worker registration fees has been used for a wide variety of purposes not originally envisioned when Public Law 5-32 was enacted and signed into law. Public Law 10-66 modified certain provisions of P.L. 5-32, specifically regarding how certain of the collected revenues were to be used.

Despite the intent of these laws, which is to ensure adequate funding for the education and training of CNMI residents to replace alien workers were insufficient qualifies CNMI residents are available in the job market, Northern Marianas College has consistently not been allocated sufficient funds to adequately operate the programs that have been established to accomplish this objective.

In general, the Legislature has been willing to fund the salaries of the instructors and staff who operate these programs, but nothing else.

Year after year, the funds under the “all others” category are zeroed out. Worse yet, P.L. 10-66 requires NMC to set aside $450,000.00 for the Business Development Center and $500,000.00 for the Work Experience Training Program. This totals $950,000.00. at the same time, the Legislature has expected NMC to continue to offer programs in the areas of accounting, business management, computer applications, hospitality management, elementary education, nursing, and so forth, with funding for salaries and operations to be provided from what is left over after the $950,000.00 is subtracted from what the Legislature has provided.

Since the Legislature has in recent past been consistent in providing only $1,300,000.00, only $350,000.00 is left over to fund all these other programs. We have survived only by bending the law, begging, borrowing and stealing.

The salaries of the existing faculty and staff in programs falling under the purview of P.L. 5-32 and P.L. 10-66 currently run around $170,000,000.00. If one rounds the $950,000.00 set-aside up to $1 million, the $170,000.00 salaries down to $1 million, (it should be rounded up to $2 million!) one can then add 1 and 1 and get 2, (and it should be 3!). Yet, the Legislature has only been allocating $1,300,000.00. For the sake of argument, let us round that down to $1 million. We need $1 million for the BDC and WETP, and we need $1 (2) million for salaries. When I went to school back in the dark ages, I was taught that 1 plus 1 adds up to 2.

Knowing this, and believing it to be true, I constantly have to ask myself why the Legislature adds 1 and 1 comes up with 1? Were Hopwwod and Mt. Carmel really that bad? I don’t remember that. Something is wrong here. Something is seriously wrong here.

If the Legislature does not want NMC to offer programs in accounting, business management, computer application, hospitality management, elementary education, nursing, and so forth, then the Legislature should pass resolutions or enact laws stating so specifically, not just kill the programs by default by not funding them!

I am requesting that each member of the Legislature to examine in his or her own heart just what education means to the future of the CNMI and keep this in the forefront when voting on the P.L. 10-66 allocations to NMC for FY 2000. I tell you truthfully, I can collect my salary and sit in the snackbar reading newspapers for a year, or I can teach. But I can’t teach if there is no money to buy chalk, no money to but white board markers, no money to buy Xerox paper to make notes, handouts, and quizzes, no money to buy software for the computer courses I teach.

If all the Legislature is willing to do is pay my salary, then the Legislature is telling me very directly they want me to spend the next year reading newspapers in the snackbar! I am told the CNMI government realizes about $6 million annually in revenue from the Alien Worker Registration Fees. NMC gets $1 of the $6 million.
Where are the other $5 going to? For sure, wherever that is, it isn’t doing a whole lot to place CNMI residents in jobs being filled by aliens.

Support the College you created! You don’t need all $6 million, but we need more than the $1.3 million we’ve been given the last few years and more than $1.1 million the grapevine says is all we’re going to get in FY 2000! Meet us halfway, and we’ll be more than happy, and all the residents of the CNMI will reap the benefits!

Dr. Frederick R. Hill
Instructor, computer applications, and director, School of Business and Hospitality Management, NMC