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Bennett to divide questions between BOE and governor
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Posted on Apr 05 2008
With the CNMI Supreme Court deciding not to entertain the certified questions he had submitted for interpretation, former teacher representative Ambrose M. Bennett said there’s only thing he can do right now: present the same questions to the Board of Education and Gov. Benigno R. Fitial.
“As a teacher, the only thing I can do right now is take those questions that I had mentioned and forward them to the Board of Education and the Governor,” Bennett said.
In an interview yesterday, Bennett said he will divide the questions between the BOE and the governor.
“If the Board and the governor truly care about teachers, they will answer these hard questions for teachers,” Bennett said.
The questions are:
[B]- Board of Education:[/B] The Constitutional Amendment requires an “exclusive bargaining representative of teachers.” What qualifies a group of teachers to be considered the “exclusive bargaining representative of teachers within PSS”? [B]- Board of Education:[/B] In the absence of a non-profit organization with a majority of teachers as members or a union, will an exclusive bargaining group of teachers that have been selected by teachers at the school level to represent teachers at each school collectively fulfill the constitutional requirement to be recognized as a collective to constitute the exclusive bargaining representative of teachers within the Public School System? [B]- Board of Education:[/B] Is the Board of Education required to bargain with the Teacher Representative? [B]- Board of Education:[/B] Will an administrator have a conflict of interest representing teachers as the Board of Education Teacher Rep? [B]- Governor:[/B] What is the Governor’s role in the selection process in the absence of a recognized exclusive bargaining representative of teachers within the Public School System? [B]- Governor:[/B] Who is responsible for conducting the selection process in the absence of an exclusive bargaining representative of teachers? [B]- Governor:[/B] Can the Election Commission be solicited by Executive Order to conduct an election for teachers until an exclusive bargaining representative of teachers within the Public School System can be established and recognized?The Supreme Court denied former BOE chairman Roman C. Benavente and Bennett’s petition for the court to answer legal questions regarding the constitutional process for selecting a teacher representative.
Chief Justice Miguel Demapan’s slip opinion stated that, because Benavente and Bennett failed to satisfy the constitutional prerequisites for certifying legal questions to the court, their petition is denied.
