Lawmakers: Vote ‘yes’ to HLI 18-12; PSS in ‘critical situation’

The Public School System is in a critical situation that it needs support in its effort to address the burgeoning teacher-student ratio, hiring of highly qualified teachers, acquisition of additional instructional materials and resources, and the repair, renovation and modernization of its aging facilities.

Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives reaffirmed their unified support yesterday for House Legislative Initiative 18-12, which will ensure permanency in the funding level of the school district.

“Anyone that is interested or remotely interested in supporting our children should support [H.L.I. 18-12]. I am not saying this initiative is the best solution for our school system but whatever we can do to increase the funding level of PSS should be supported,” said Sen. Pete P. Reyes, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation and Communication.

“Perhaps there could be more that we should do for public schools, for our public school students, for our public school teachers and staff, for our classrooms [because] our [PSS] is now at a critical juncture more than ever,” adds Reyes, a strong public education advocate.

Last July, both legislative chambers unanimously passed H.L.I. 18-12 and it will now be on the ballot this November.

Authored by Rep. Roman Benavente, H.L.I. 18-12 raises the minimum 15 percent funding level for PSS from government revenue sources for appropriation, to 25 percent. If voters approve H.L.I. 18-12, this will “correct” this 29-year-old constitutional mandate.

‘Funding does not meet cost’
In today’s changing education landscape, the level of funding (and its fluctuation) “no longer reflects the actual cost of providing public education services,” according to Benavente.

“When I authored the initiative, we [House Committee on Education, Health and Welfare] took primary consideration that there has been a downward trend in public education funding. By looking at this trend, it is not commensurate with the growing student enrollment and critical needs of PSS, which continue to grow at a rapid pace,” he noted.

The level of enrollment for all public elementary and secondary schools on Saipan, Tinian and Rota continue to increase: from around 9,000 in 2000 to today’s nearly 11,000 total.

“Because of economic issues, a lot of our families who used to afford to send their children to private schools have now transitioned to public schools, and in effect it increases the [PSS] enrollment, increases the demand for classroom teachers,” said Benavente.

Benavente is also a former chairman of the Board of Education, the policymaking body of the school district.

The cost and expenses in providing services to our children is evident and PSS continue to carry this year after year, the author noted.

Along with increasing student enrollment, PSS’ 19 campuses are aging and need immediate major repairs as cited by the Office of Insular Affairs’ 2013 report of its Assessment of Buildings and Classrooms.

The same report also revealed that PSS has an estimated $11.3 million in accrued deferred maintenance that must be urgently addressed. Further delay of the plans will add up to a costly and complex problem of maintaining the structural integrity of all public school facilities.

“This impacts PSS operation because the funding level PSS continues to receive is most of the time lower,” Benavente explained. “Now is the time…that this should be adjusted.”

Disparity
Separately, Senate Ways and Means Committee chair Jovita Taimanao said the public has to be made aware that there is disparity in funding support and with PSS’ ability to move forward in meeting its mandate.

In fact, when both legislative chambers unanimously endorsed H.L.I. 18-12, it was “highlighting the importance that not a single child must be left behind” when we are talking about public education.

“This is the key motivating [reason] why we all have to support PSS. Other than we know there is commitment and focus for effective student/classroom learning, they are doing more given [with] the challenges and difficulties brought by lack of enough funding and resources,” Taimanao said.

One particular area of concern is the teacher-student ratio.

“The teacher-student ratio is at an alarming level now. When we were presented with the report by the Board of Education [chair] Herman Guerrero and [Education] Commissioner Dr. [Rita] Sablan, we realized that this is actually happening,” Taimanao admitted. “If we all visit our public schools today, we can actually see that overcrowding is wearing down both our students and teachers.”

At the opening of the new school year, the PSS’ student-teacher ratio was initially pegged at an average of 30 students to 1 teacher per classroom. In some public schools, the ratio is at 37:1.

This figure is higher than the BOE-mandated policy of 25:1.

“We at the Senate are really very concerned of the situation and this is why we are supporting H.L.I. 18-12,” she added.

In agreeing with Taimanao, Reyes explained that throughout the years, PSS continue to grow in the services and opportunities it provides its students.

“PSS is growing at a rate that the funding is not catching up with the growth. It is not at par with its current needs…and it needs to be given some permanency in the budget so that PSS does not need to justify something that is already justified and evident,” Reyes said. “And to the critics or who are opposed to this, we all have to understand that [H.L.I. 18-12] is about the interest of public school children. This is not about Pete Reyes or any members of the Legislature. It is about supporting education. You cannot just say, ‘I am almost supporting this’: you have to make decision: are you supporting it or not?”

“This is not a complex situation that our public schools has to come back again and again and beg for money that is entitled to our children,” Reyes added. (PSS)