House lawmakers directed yesterday local scholarship money to fund about $1 million in repairs to the damaged Northern Marianas College campus after Typhoon Soudelor tore off building roofs, left facilities inoperable, and exposed rooms to rain and mold last month.<\/p>\n
House Local Bill 19-10 will give $1 million to NMC to repair its damaged buildings, according to Rep. Joseph \u201cLee Pan\u201d Guerreo (R-Saipan), author of the amendment that moved the $1 million to NMC. It will require the college president to submit quarterly reports on the use of these funds. It also sets the college president as the expenditure authority.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very precise, and it\u2019s not reprogrammable,\u201d Guerrero told Saipan Tribune.<\/p>\n
The bill did not pass without lengthy debate over the source of the $1 million\u2014lapsed funds belonging to the Saipan Higher Education Financial Assistance Program.<\/p>\n
Discussion took most of the Saipan and Northern Island Delegation\u2019s time before lawmakers passed the bill unanimously.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to Finance, they had over $4 million of lapsed funds,\u201d said Guerrero after the session.<\/p>\n
\u201cI truly agree with the chairman of SHEFA on the importance of giving additional funding to the kids,\u201d Guerrero said, noting reports that SHEFA may require students to attend NMC for the first year of college, and also possibly raise semester scholarships from $800 to $1200.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026But NMC is in a state of calamity right now with the damaged roof for a couple of their buildings,\u201d Guerrero said. \u201cIf NMC cannot repair that, what kind of schooling will be imposed on the kids?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsent the repairs to those buildings, is the safety of NMC students going to be compromised? I think so. Those buildings need to be repaired.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are only asking the chairman be mindful of the state of condition NMC is in,\u201d Guerrero added.<\/p>\n
The bill also moves funds to the Board of Parole and the Precinct 5 basketball court.<\/p>\n
NMC officials and the SHEFA board chairman were present during yesterday\u2019s session. The college presented footage showing their damaged campus.
\nNMC earlier reported that out of the 18 buildings that sustained damage from the storm, four are inoperable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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