SHEFA pleads for retention of ‘lapsed’ funds

Officials of the Saipan Higher Education Financial Assistance board appealed to the local legislative delegation yesterday to help them keep their program’s “lapsed” funds, amounting to some $1 million.

“Please give us that lapsed fund,” said SHEFA board chair Felicidad T. Ogumoro during a session of the Saipan and Northern Island Legislative Delegation yesterday morning.

She noted that the Department of Finance has not dispensed the money.

SHEFA, which began operations last year under the Saipan Mayor’s Office, was initially appropriated $1.2 million but it only managed to touch a small portion of the entire funding during the last fiscal year.

Yesterday, SHEFA called on lawmakers to pass a measure that would authorize the board to use the money for the current fiscal year.

Meantime, Finance Secretary Fermin M. Atalig, who also attended the session, said that, although the remaining money has been set aside—and not funneled to the local funds as in the case of any lapsed funds—it cannot be spent in the absence of a law authorizing such a particular move.

“If there’s no law authorizing them to use it, the money can’t be given back to them,” said Atalig.

He said SHEFA’s “set aside” funds total $1.029 million.

“They were late in coming up with their regulations. They only adopted it last summer so the program was not very well known,” said the secretary.

Technically speaking, he said there should be no lapsed funds since the Planning and Budgeting Act does not allow agencies to accrue local funds.

“It [Act] says that any excess should be put into local revenue fund, which is open for appropriation,” said Atalig.

Saipan lawmakers favored yesterday the introduction of a legislative measure that would amend the law to ensure that the SHEFA board can independently manage the account.

Ogumoro said there are 367 students who availed themselves of the financial assistance during the first year of its operation.

Under the regulations, a SHEFA scholar must maintain or exceed a 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 grade point average.

SHEFA is open to qualified Saipan residents attending U.S. accredited colleges or universities at home or abroad. It provides $2,000 financial assistance to each scholar.

The scholarship assistance program sources funds from poker and pachinko machines license fees.