Focus on Education Expectations of Education vs. Reality

“The Board of Education is asking for $59,000,000 for the Fiscal Year 2002!” After that announcement, the room fell silent. Then slowly snickers grew into outright laughter. How could the BOE think of such a ridiculous amount in these austere times? Of course, the community expects the best education for its children but doesn’t want to pay for it. Let’s examine reality and hopefully understand that public education is expensive.

Let’s see why this figure was requested and what could happen if less is allocated. During this current fiscal year, the PSS has a budget of $36,030,342 under a continuing resolution. It originally had $41,609,200 but that was reduced by $5,578,858. Despite the fact schools were already in session, the system somehow had to absorb this cut without cutting back any of its services to the children.

Don’t worry, the request for $59 million was shot down . Instead the governor submitted to the Legislature a request for only $43,000,000– a cut of $16,000,000! Here is what the students and the public may expect for that amount which may be cut even further by the Legislature. And here is what the system looks like now and by January 2002.

At the time of its last “new” budget of FY-1998, the Public School system was a system of fourteen (14) campuses. In 1999, DanDan Elementary came on line. There are five additional schools that have been constructed or will have been constructed in a relatively short time. Kagman Elementary School was opened September 2000. And in April 2001, seven (7) classrooms were added to the system. Rota Sinapolo Elementary School will open in August 2001. January 2002, Kagman Junior High School, Kagman High School, and Koblerville High School will open. Since FY-98, we will have grown from fourteen (14) to twenty (20) campuses.

When all these new schools are completed by January 2002, there will be about 157 new classrooms. This is tantamount to increasing the size of the PSS by more than 26 %! The increase set forth here only lists academic classrooms. Add to those classrooms facilities such as science labs, computer labs, vocational workshops, counseling rooms, cafeterias, libraries, JROTC facilities, sports facilities and administrative offices.

These new facilities will serve approximately eight hundred (800) more students than were in the system when the FY-98 budget was presented. The enrollment in the Public School System is increasing at the rate of about 2.7% per year. Currently there are about 10,000 students enrolled in the schools.

The Public School system employs over 1,000 personnel, owns more land and operates more buildings than any other government agency in the CNMI. Kindergarten and Headstart are also part of the system. Let’s not forget that the PSS is mandated to care for disabled children from birth to the age of twenty-one. The PSS is the largest government agency in the CNMI.

In the United States the average cost of educating a student ranges from a low $6,500 to $9,000. Currently the PSS’s cost is about $3,600. Thus if PSS were to obtain the full $59 million, cost per student would still be below the low range, or $5,900 per student on the national average of $6,500.

Currently there are 160 authorized but vacant teaching and non-teaching positions. The vacant full time employee (FTE) positions will cost $8.5 million to fund. $4.3 million will fund salaries and costs for the certified FTE’s to fill positions at the new schools. Without this funding, construction of our new schools will have been in vain. Consequently, the PSS is unable to address even the existing level of teachers and staff because of inclusion of the already opened new schools. (continued)

Strictly a personal view. Anthony Pellegrino writes every Monday and Tuesday. Mr. Pellegrino can be reached at tonypell@saipan.com