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$50M budget for PSS backed
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Posted on Jun 08 2005
As requested, House members are pushing for a $50-million budget for the Public School System in Fiscal Year 2006.
Rep. Justo S. Quitugua, chair of the House Education Committee, said yesterday that he supports the introduction of a separate PSS budget bill that grants it a total of $50 million for the next fiscal year.
The PSS currently receives $37.2 million a year.
Quitugua said that based on the draft bill, PSS would spend $40 million for personnel and $10 million for operations.
Quitugua said he favors giving the PSS “some flexibility” when it comes to operating funds.
“To do that, I support giving PSS a lump sum of its non-personnel budget. It gives them some flexibility to spend the money based on their priorities,” said the congressman.
House Ways and Means Committee chair Norman S. Palacios said he will soon introduce the PSS budget bill. He said the bill is supported by other members, including those from the minority bloc.
“That’s what we’ve discussed—to give PSS its increased budget,” said Palacios.
Rep. Ray Tebuteb, designated spokesman of the minority bloc, said his group fully supports the bill.
“We support having a piecemeal budget for PSS. We’re giving PSS the budget it says it needs. We do understand the situation at our schools,” said Tebuteb.
The PSS budget proposal was part of the $225.8 million submission of the Babauta administration for FY 2006. The entire package contains proposed revenue generating measures that aim to raise $19 million.
These measures include the imposition of a $6,000 poker fee increase and diversion of local poker fee funds, as well as Tobacco Control and Tobacco Settlement Funds, to the General Fund.
The administration said that existing resources would only generate $206 million in view of the projected decline in revenue from the garment sector.
