Students launch signature petition for Garrison’s return

A group of students has launched a signature petition to bring back Craig Garrison to the Public School System.

Led by Tao Cheng, who graduated from Marianas High School this school year, the signature campaign was initiated two weeks ago following the departure of Garrison from PSS after Education Commissioner Rita A. Sablan placed him on administrative leave until September.

Cheng showed Saipan Tribune yesterday the three-page document bearing the names of 114 students, most of whom are from Saipan Southern High School and Marianas High School. The signatories, he said, are summer enrollees at SSHS.

Besides the 114 initial petitioners, Cheng said over a hundred students also agreed to sign the petition online because they are either on vacation or off-island.

Cheng is a former student of Saipan Southern High before transferring to MHS. He said he is a witness to the many progress and positive changes that Garrison had enforced in both schools.

As a PSS alumnus, Cheng believes it is his responsibility to continue to protect and care for his alma mater. He believes that Garrison is a “great asset” to the school system and more students will benefit from his systematic leadership.

“Many students love Mr. Garrison as a person and as a leader. He has a big heart for students and he’s making a big difference in their lives. I hope through this petition, PSS and the Board of Education can do something for his return,” Cheng said.

Cheng disclosed that many teachers—both at MHS and SSHS—have also expressed their support for the petition but requested not to sign the petition.

Cheng’s group plans to turn in the signature petition to Commissioner Sablan next week.

In his last year at MHS, Cheng said that student participation in classes and activities went up. “More classes were opened and more teachers were seen teaching these classes.”

Garrison confirmed yesterday that since his resignation, he has received many pleas from individuals asking him to reconsider and go back to PSS.

“There is not a day that goes by that someone, somewhere, doesn’t ask me to stay on with PSS. I think mostly because they know why I do the things I do. My Facebook is constantly lit up with those kind of comments from both past, present parents, and even future students that never had the chance to be under my charge,” he said.

Garrison described the experience as emotional. “It’s very emotional, a very moving experience, and certainly one that makes me reflect if I can weather the storm, so to speak, and return to PSS to continue the good fight. I think about everything.”

Garrison resigned from his position effective Sept. 1 due to irreconcilable differences with Sablan. A week after submitting his resignation, Garrison was placed on administrative leave.