Public School System Education Commissioner Rita Sablan is disputing claims the school system owes the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. more than $1 million in past debt. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to dispute their records,\u201d she said, adding that, according to their records, they do not owe any money. <\/p>\n
On Tuesday, CUC executive director Antonio Mu\u00f1a said PSS has a past due debt of $1.8 million. This is on top of the $1.6 million PSS paid CUC in July after Finance Secretary Eloy Inos became involved in the situation. <\/p>\n
Sablan said PSS is reviewing the CUC bills to make sure they\u2019re correct. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to work with them to make sure the discrepancies are resolved,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n
She said school administrators have indicated there are discrepancies between what CUC\u2019s meter readers are calculating and what school meter readers are calculating. <\/p>\n
PSS paid an average of $400,000 each month during fiscal year 2007 and paid $4 million to CUC for the entire fiscal 2007 year, she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cTo our records, we don\u2019t owe anything,\u201d Sablan said. <\/p>\n
For the month of August, PSS paid CUC $173,000. Sablan said the number was lower because school was not in session. <\/p>\n
The PSS Finance Department would not release their utility records yesterday, but a public records request was going to be submitted. <\/p>\n
A CUC representative was compiling their PSS billing records. <\/p>\n
When asked if PSS would be able to pay the $1.8 million, Sablan said it is not realistic for the school system to pay that amount with their current budget constraints. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just like any other family or business,\u201d she said. \u201cThe payment of CUC bills is a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
The PSS operating cost for fiscal year 2008, from which the CUC money would come out of, is $2 million, she added. <\/p>\n
Also, Sablan said she disagrees with the $1.6 million that was transferred to CUC in July. Inos transferred the money after speaking with then-Education Commissioner Craig Garrison. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere was nothing official saying we authorized the transfer of money,\u201d Sablan said. \u201cWe need to talk to Eloy Inos.\u201d<\/p>\n
An e-mail exchange between Inos and Garrison did take place. <\/p>\n
Mu\u00f1a said CUC is expecting to collect the $1.8 million from PSS and $1.6 million from the central government to help pay for the emergency Aggreko generators that were turned on last week. CUC is expected to pay Aggreko $504,000 in three weeks. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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