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‘Students will be OK under lowered budget’
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Posted on Dec 07 2008
Lawmakers say student learning will be in good shape even though the Legislature-passed budget offers $2 million less than the governor’s proposal for the Public School System.
Under the budget, which now awaits the governor’s action, PSS will get $36.4 million, a huge drop from the $38.2 million that education officials are requesting from the CNMI government.
In a report, the joint conference committee that drafted the budget bill said the proposed appropriation for PSS reflects the government’s “great efforts to preserve the funding of education” amid dwindling government revenues.
The joint committee noted that the $38.2 million proposal was calculated using an 18-percent employer contribution rate for the government pension program’s defined benefit plan. The budget bill, on the other hand, applies a uniform contribution rate of 11 percent for all government agencies, thereby saving PSS $1.7 million in personnel costs.
The committee also pointed out that the governor’s proposal fully funded all JROTC instructors. It does not reflect the fact that the Department of Defense reimburses the personnel costs of these instructors at a minimum of 50 percent to the various schools. Reimbursement to the CNMI’s education system is estimated at $196,000.
“This act removes the amount of appropriation from PSS’ total budget that would have funded a non-existent cost,” notes the committee, which is made up of Senate and House members.
According to the committee, the $36.4 million appropriation for PSS, combined with PSS grants of approximately $42.8 million from the federal government, exceed PSS’ budget request of $64 million.
“[The] joint conference committee concludes that the appropriation of $36.38 million is sufficient in conjunction with other funding to meet or exceed the Public School System’s proposed budget for FY2009, and that student learning will not be adversely impacted,” the report states.
The budget bill exempts PSS from the proposed 10.7-percent budget cut against agencies funded by the central government. Teachers are also exempted from the government-wide salary and hiring freeze sought by the bill.
