MHS seeks help to repair aircon
Marianas High School, the largest public high school in the CNMI, has asked for the Transition Committee’s help in repairing the school gymnasium’s air conditioners.
The MHS gymnasium was used as the alternative venue during the Inaugural Ceremony for Gov. Benigno R. Fitial and Lt. Gov. Tim Villagomez last Jan. 9. MHS principal Karen Borja said the public school allowed the committee to use the gymnasium for free.
Borja said she is pleading with the committee for assistance to repair the gymnasium air conditioner, either through financial or manpower assistance.
She earlier expressed disappointment with a handful of community members who complained about the air conditioning inside the gymnasium during the inauguration.
The principal said two of the four air conditioners in the gym have already been repaired using the money that they collected from those who rent the gym for special events.
The two air conditioners were repaired at a cost of $28,000.
Repairing the two others would require the same amount, “and we don’t have the money anymore.”
MHS reportedly received a measly $40,000 for its operational expenses in school year 2005-2006. The fund given to the school is $20,000 short of last school year’s budget allocation.
This is the lowest amount the high school has gotten in four years, according to Borja. In 2003, MHS received $200,000 for its school operations. In 2004, the funding was reduced to $100,000, followed by $60,000 in 2005; now it is down to only $40,000.
“We are just so in desperate need,” said Borja.
She said the school is gratified with the business community for all the Educational Tax Credit donations the school got.
She said the money given them this year would only defray the costs for grass cutting, for security, and toilet paper in the school. Minor repairs are also included in the budget but major repairs will just have to be put on hold.
The principal said that, until now, three MHS buildings are in different states of disrepair because of termite infestation. Borja said the buildings that badly need repairs are the S-Building, J-Building, and T-Building.
In order to repair one building, Borja said the estimated cost is $62,000, which is more than the budget allocated to them this year.
