The heads of the Public School System have objected to a House measure that would allow school principals to determine their school year budgets.<\/p>\n
In written comments submitted last week to the House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare, Board of Education chair Herman T. Guerrero and acting education commissioner Glenn Mu\u00f1a called House Bill 19-71 a violation of the CNMI Constitution and a limit on the implementation of board policy.<\/p>\n
The education chiefs write that the bill\u2019s goals\u2014to improve student outcomes\u2014will not be met by a decentralized budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe commissioner of education is by law both the expenditure authority and the administrative head of the Public School System,\u201d Mu\u00f1a and Guerrero wrote.<\/p>\n
They note that the Constitution grants the power to create policy to the elected education board, and the power to administer this through the education commissioner.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny bill that would disturb these functions\u201d violates the Constitution, they said.<\/p>\n
Mu\u00f1a and Guerrero said the power to create and vote on budgets and budget policy is under the purview of the board and not the Legislature.<\/p>\n
PSS believes the House bill would create three budgets to be submitted to the Legislature instead of two\u2014one for the board, another for the commissioner, and a third one for each school individually.<\/p>\n
PSS believes this would create a \u201cpolitical\u201d climate where lawmakers would appropriate more money into schools of their district.<\/p>\n
PSS says deferred maintenance, universal Kindergarten, new textbooks, and technology require a \u201cbird\u2019s eye view.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand what this bill is trying to accomplish. It means to create a system where individual principals\u2014who know the particular needs of their schools\u2014are empowered to act locally and effectively without interference. The idea is a good one. Many problems are school-level and can best be addressed by a principal, without the central office. However, this bill throws out the baby with the bathwater.\u201d The bill creates a large problem by \u201cstripping the board and commissioner of their constitutionally mandated roles,\u201d Mu\u00f1a and Guerrero wrote.<\/p>\n
The bill does not account for what decentralization would bring, PSS also said. PSS believes this would amount to \u201cchaos,\u201d when it comes to reprogramming money and would leave administration of public schools up to the Legislature.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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