PSS thanks House for passing pro-PSS bills

The Public School System ramped up its lobbying campaign yesterday with the release of a statement thanking the House of Representatives for initially passing four House bills that would benefit public schools in the CNMI.

Education Commissioner Dr. Rita Hocog Inos said the four bills would directly benefit the Commonwealth’s 20 public schools.

The four bills are:

* House Bill 140-370, or “The PSS Textbook Relief Act,” which provides funding for textbook purchases by restoring both the 1 percent deducted from the PSS’ budget for the public auditor and the 2 percent for deficit reduction and then earmarking these funds for the purchase of textbooks;

* House Bill 14-369, which exempts the PSS from any increase in employer contribution to the Retirement Fund for the next five years;

* House Bill 14-363, which restores the expenditure authority of the Commissioner over all capital improvement funds appropriated for the PSS; and

* House Bill 14-371 that would appropriate a $50-million budget for PSS in Fiscal Year 2005.

Inos pointed out that H.B. 14-369 is necessary since the PSS is current in all its payments to the Retirement Fund, unlike the central government itself, which owes the Fund some $80 million—an amount appropriated by law but never remitted to the Retirement Fund.

As for the $50 million budget for PSS this school year, Inos thanked the House for passing the bill, at least on first reading, and expressed hope that it would pass on second and final reading.

Inos earlier said that the PSS has not had a budget increase in over seven years. At the same time, the PSS budget has been $5 million lower than it was in 1997 and 1998.

Since then, the PSS has opened six new schools and added over 2,500 more students since 1997 and now has a student enrollment of over 12,000 students. Passing House Bill 14-371, she said, is critically important to PSS.

Inos expressed hope that the Senate will act expeditiously and favorably on the three bills that are now with the upper chamber for action.

The House and Senate earlier this summer unanimously approved the reprogramming of $1.1 million dollars from the deficit reduction account to the PSS to pay for minor repairs and maintenance at public schools, trash collection, fuel for school buses, repairs to school buses, payment for security guards at schools and payment of annual leave of teachers.

“This is money that PSS desperately needed before school opened on August 3, 2005,” she said.

The commissioner said that PSS wrote to the governor on July 11 and July 28 about its need for the $1.1 million additional funding for school year 2004 to 2005 and the Legislature’s approval of this amount. She added that PSS has followed up again and again but has not received any response from the Governor’s Office.