BOE appeals to Legislature for release of funds

Board of Education chairman Roman C. Benavente is appealing the Legislature to include the Public School System in their priorities.

Benavente told Saipan Tribune last week that he is now getting confused with regards to the priorities of the lawmaking body. He said it is now election time and voters in the CNMI are looking forward to their track record on advancing education.

“The Legislature should come up with amicable solution to their resolutions,” he said. Benavente said he was also pertaining to House Joint Resolution 14-32 that approves the reprogramming of $1.1 million for the unanticipated budget shortfall at PSS.

Last Friday afternoon BOE vice chair Dino Jones and secretary and treasurer Marja Lee Taitano joined Benavente in a two-hour discussion with Gov. Juan N. Babauta at the Governor’s Office.

The PSS is scheduled to receive today only $150,000 of the $610,000 that the PSS needs to repair schools and the allocation is meant to last until September, said Benavente. He said the Department of Finance could only come up with a fourth of that amount—150,000—which was promised to be issued to PSS Monday.

It’s now only two days to go before the new school year starts but the cash-strapped PSS would still need to repair some schools, especially those that have fallen victim to a spate of burglaries a couple of months ago.

Benavente said the Legislature takes also a big part in providing funds for the education system. “Why is the issue on poker more important than our children’s education,” he said.

As for the rest of the amount that PSS needs to support its financial requirements until September—$460,000—the BOE will have to follow up on this again, said the BOE chair.

Benavente said the governor assured the board last Friday that, as soon as collections come in, the amount requested would be forwarded to PSS.

Benavente said the BOE would be in constant communication with the Finance office and that it will continue checking with Secretary of Finance Fermin Atalig.

As soon as PSS gets the promised $150,000 today, Benavente said the money would be used to repair the classroom in Kagman High School that was burglarized and burned down by teenagers last May and whatever is going to be left from the expected money on Monday would be used for the repair of the other schools.