‘Use stabilization funds for education’

The chair of the Public School System’s Board of Education says she is appalled some stimulus funds from the U.S. Department of Education will not be used for education but instead go to government payroll.

Lucy Blanco-Maratita says it is disappointing some of the funds allocated to the CNMI under the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund section of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be used for other things besides education.

By law, 81.8 percent must go toward education, while the remaining 18.2 percent can go to public safety and other government services, including assistance for elementary and secondary education and public institutions of higher education. It can also be used for modernization, renovation, or repair of public school facilities and higher education facilities.

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial said he would use the 18.2 percent discretionary fund, estimated to be about $8 million, to cover the payroll costs for government employees for the rest of the fiscal year.

“I think it’s rather appalling that the funds identified for education will be used for other purposes,” Blanco-Maratita said in an e-mail. “Once again, such actions do not mesh with making education a priority for the CNMI and goes against the intent and letter of the law. Where is the protection and advocacy for our children’s education if the governor/government does not even want to abide by the federal law?”

PSS’ application seeks funding to restore teaching positions, which were cut when the PSS budget was decreased in 2006, she said. The application for funds has been submitted to the U.S. Department of Education and the Governor’s Office.

“Such restoration will help in meeting our students’ needs,” Blanco-Maratita added.

A “turf battle” between PSS and the Fitial administration has been brewing, after Fitial, along with the governors of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa, wrote to President Obama last month asking to let the Department of Interior administer the stabilization funds, not the Department of Education.

Herman Guerrero, Board of Education vice chairman, said he is opposed to Interior controlling and disbursing the money.

“I’m not interested in DOI having the funds. We still want U.S. [Department of] Education to have control because we’ve been working with them,” he said, noting PSS and BOE officials earlier met with officials from the Department of Education in Washington, D.C.

Fitial noted in the letter with the other governors that the stimulus law mandates the Secretary of Education to consult with the Secretary of the Interior on the needs and conditions of the funds.

“By including this requirement, Congress recognized that the outlying areas, in fact, have unique needs that may be better understood and better addressed by [Interior] which has the most historical and administrative experience with the island territories,” the letter said.

The Board of Education is drafting its own letter to Obama, saying they don’t agree with Fitial and, under the Constitution, education is the responsibility of the BOE, Guerrero said.

There will be less hassle if the U.S. Department of Education distributes the money, Guerrero said.

Moreover, Fitial didn’t have the courtesy to tell PSS he was writing Obama asking the Interior to take control of the funds, the vice chair said.

“He’s doing things behind our back without proper consultation,” Guerrero said of Fitial.

Charles Reyes, press secretary for the Governor’s Office, said the administration hopes to work out the issues with the school system.

“They may want to get money directly,” the press secretary said. “We heard they may not be happy because everything has to go through the Governor’s Office. My feedback, what I heard, is PSS administration wants to have direct control. There may be some sort of turf battle going on. We’re going to try to work it out, because I think there might be some kind of misunderstanding.”