The Public School System is now thinking of just rebuilding the Herbert G. Hopwood Middle School instead of relocating the entire campus after it was completely destroyed by Super Typhoon Yutu in October last year.<\/p>\n
PSS informed the House Ways and Means Committee during their annual budget hearing last Monday morning that they are expecting an estimated $24 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and they are looking to use all of that to rebuild Hopwood.<\/p>\n
Education Commissioner Glenn Mu\u00f1a told legislators Monday that, at the moment, it would be more feasible for PSS to rebuild the campus rather than relocate it or rebuild a new one.<\/p>\n
In a separate interview, Mu\u00f1a estimates that building a new campus would cost at least $60 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we were to [build] another school, I am estimating anywhere between $60 million and $80 million for a school to accommodate the number of students at Hopwood,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
This school year, Hopwood\u2019s student population is roughly 1,000.<\/p>\n
Rep. Joseph \u201cLee Pan\u201d Guerrero (R-Saipan) pointed out during the budget hearing that the idea of building a new Hopwood campus is more complex than just building a new site. He noted that the current troubles with manpower in the CNMI would effectively prolong the construction of a new campus.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026That also is our biggest challenge,\u201d Mu\u00f1a said, recognizing the lawmaker\u2019s concerns. \u201cWe all know the timeframe of three to four years is most likely going to extend if we are going to build a new school because of [the] challenge in our workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mu\u00f1a acknowledges that money would be coming in but he noted that the $24 million is only an estimate and might change. However, the $24 million reported to him by FEMA officials is already inclusive of PSS content, books, tablets, computers, and other educational materials that were also wiped out by Super Typhoon Yutu.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much exactly for building damage and content damage, I don\u2019t know,\u201d Mu\u00f1a said. <\/p>\n
The $24-million figure, according to Mu\u00f1a, is the estimated figure that PSS would receive according to FEMA officials who visited about two weeks ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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