PSS: Where’s the Compact Impact money?

Ranking Public School System officials are wondering as to what happened to the fiscal year 2004 Compact Impact money and wants to know where it was spent.

“Has it arrived and, if it has, where was it used?” asked Education Commissioner Rita H. Inos.

She also questioned details of the cash flow and wants a follow-up on how much of the money is allotted to each government agency receiving its share of the funding.

“We want to know what kind of cash is coming in and what and how much was collected,” she said. “We want to know how much money was collected so that the public can know.”

The education official said the government should be transparent because the public has the right to know.

“We are asking only [about] the Compact Impact money on fiscal year 2004, which is from October 2003 to September 2004,” said Inos.

She said the government should lay down on the table the status of its Compact Impact funding. “We don’t know about the Compact Impact money because they [Finance Department] are not transparent with us,” she added. “And if they received it, how did they use it? If they haven’t received it, then why haven’t they received it yet?”

PSS federal programs coordinator Tim Thornburgh shares Inos’ concern.
“Did they use Compact money to give us our funding or did they use the collection to pay us?” he said.

The two PSS officials also said the government does not regularly provide details on the matter when fulfilling their financial obligations to PSS.

“I do care about this issue because we need the Compact Impact funds, too,” Inos said.

Finance Secretary Fermin Atalig said that the PSS officials should have asked him personally or through a letter and he would have answered them immediately. “I don’t want to answer them through the media,” Atalig said. He further said that he would still have to consult the governor about this matter.

Atalig said that he is more than willing to answer these questions in a proper forum. “As far as I know the governor already made a commitment to PSS for the 2005 Compact Impact Fund,” he said.

Inos clarified, though, that they are not questioning the Compact Impact money for fiscal year 2005, which began last Oct. 2004 to Sept. 2005.

In December, Gov. Juan N. Babauta committed to PSS in the next four years the $5.1 million the CNMI will annually get in Compact Impact funds.

The $30 million total Compact Impact fund, which the U.S. distributes to help soften the impact of migration from other Pacific islands to the local economy for a period of 20 years, is also shared by Hawaii, Guam, and American Samoa. (Marconi Calindas)