$250K savings with PSS relocation
The Public School System is looking at saving $250,000 in rental expenses and utility costs by moving its central office from Capital Hill to Marianas High School next month, to coincide with the start of the new school year.
The transfer of PSS and the Board of Education from the NMI Retirement Fund building to MHS is part of the agency’s belt-tightening measures.
“The quarter-of-a-million dollars that will be saved from lease and utility expenses in a year is a significant amount that could help PSS in meeting its other pressing needs,” Education Commissioner Rita A. Sablan told Saipan Tribune yesterday.
The renovated buildings at the MHS campus that will house the PSS central offices and the BOE have been fitted with energy-efficient air-conditioning units and lights. From $17,000 to $22,000 in combined lease and utility expenses at its Capital Hill office, PSS will now spend nothing except for utility costs at its new location.
The Public School System’s current $31 million budget is the lowest in about 20 years.
When asked if the MHS site will become the “permanent office” for PSS and BOE, Sablan said, “There is never a permanent space until you build a permanent structure.”
Saipan Tribune learned that prior to the expiration of PSS’ lease with the Fund on April 30, Sablan had asked for a reduction in PSS’ lease rate, citing the system’s budget constraints. Although the Fund had initially agreed to the rate cut, it, however, set some conditions, which PSS declined. Some of these conditions included requiring PSS to make a three-month rental deposit and using a separate meter for its energy use.
For the next fiscal year, PSS will only get about $30 million from the central government. The budget crunch will be exacerbated when federal assistance under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ends on Sept. 30 this year.
PSS received about $32.2 million ARRA funding two years ago. These grants were used to rehabilitate and modernize public schools and retain teacher jobs.
