Still payless Friday at PSS but 30% ‘owed’ salary is released

The Public School System was able to pay off the 30% it owed teachers and staff from two payrolls ago but no salaries came in last Friday.

During an emergency Board of Education meeting last Wednesday, board chair Janice Tenorio said she was able to secure $500,000 to pay off teachers after a meeting with Gov. Ralph DLG Torres last Tuesday.

Kimo Rosario, PSS acting director of Finance, confirmed that PSS received the funds in their account last Wednesday and used the money to pay PSS personnel the 30% that they were owed from a couple of payrolls ago, when PSS only paid its employees 70% of their wages.

A couple of PSS teachers confirmed that they received the payment last Friday in their bank accounts.

However, PSS staff are still owed two whole payrolls before furlough notices were sent out last April 13 that took effect last April 15.

According to a PSS employee who requested that her name be withheld, she said her finances are already shaky to begin with, so this situation is only making her situation worse. “I don’t get paid much with what I do at PSS, not like teachers, I would assume. I live paycheck to paycheck. I don’t have savings,” she said.

She added that she hasn’t been able to sleep well, thinking of how she’s going to pay her bills or even how she’s going to eat on a day-to-day basis.

“I’m stressed out, but I know we can’t do anything if there is no money being allocated to PSS. I’m putting my faith in God and I hope the federal aid will come sooner rather than later. It would be a huge weight lifted off my shoulders,” she said.

Education Commissioner Dr. Alfred Ada said PSS is depending on the loan they have applied for with the Marianas Public Land Trust to pay off the two missed personnel payrolls. That amount is equivalent to $1.8 million.

BOE members were also set to meet with Torres last Friday to request for financial assistance so they could pay teachers and staff. In turn, they would re-visit the lawsuit that PSS initiated against the CNMI government. That lawsuit—an injunction to force the central government to pay it its constitutionally guaranteed share of the annual budget—is set to be heard in June.

Last Wednesday, BOE members came to a unanimous decision to approve the board resolution needed to process PSS’ application for a loan with MPLT. The resolution authorizes Ada to apply for loan of up to $5 million from MPLT and assures MPLT that the loan will be paid off five business days after PSS receives in its account the over $12.6 million it expects to get from the CARES Act.

BOE member Marylou Ada was the one who suggested the meeting with Torres and the entire board last Friday to negotiate a way to pay teachers and staff. BOE has set a regular board meeting this Wednesday to discuss how the meeting went and to revisit the injunction.