By Marconi Calindas
\nReporter<\/p>\n
The Board of Education may have no choice but to suspend operations starting Tuesday next week if the funding crisis besetting the Public School System is not resolved today.<\/p>\n
In its first board meeting for the year held yesterday, the CNMI State Board of Education voted to shut down the Commonwealth\u2019s public schools beginning Jan. 11 if the delay in the transfer of their payroll fund is not immediately addressed.<\/p>\n
BOE officers led by chair Roman C. Benavente had a follow up meeting with the Office of the Governor Wednesday afternoon, but according to them, the meeting was pointless.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing came out,\u201d said board member Herman Guererro. \u201cThey keep saying that perhaps they are going to have Compact money, which we haven\u2019t received. And today is the day we normally send the money to the bank.\u201d<\/p>\n
Education commissioner Rita Hocog Inos said that she would meet school principals at 8am today at the Marianas High School Pearl Service Center to discuss the situation with them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to convince the principals and we\u2019re going to discuss what the board has directed me in the event that we don\u2019t have the resources,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Inos also stressed that if funds are not transferred today, her office will have to send news releases to everyone in CNMI, explaining why they will shutdown school operations on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
BOE chair Benavente also expressed his regrets over the decision to shut down schools starting Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat more can I say? Everybody agrees,\u201d he said, \u201cNot only that we don\u2019t have the money, but how can we continue paying for people.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also said that, unless the administration releases the money, the school administrators have no choice but to keep the schools closed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot pay, how can I make them work, how are they going to be paid?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
In a letter sent by Inos to the Governor\u2019s Office dated Jan. 5, the commissioner sought Gov. Juan N. Babauta\u2019s help to provide for a total of $3.9 million.<\/p>\n
The letter stated that the Finance Department owes PSS local payroll for the month of December in the amount of $1.35 million and previous payroll and operations of $2.55 million.<\/p>\n
The letter also mentioned that PSS had to borrow federal funds allotted for other major projects just to cover payroll deficits that have amounted to a staggering $750,000.<\/p>\n
That has resulted in vendors no longer willing to take purchase orders from PSS due to the late payments. The letter went on to say that this impasse would continue unless PSS earmarks payment coming from federal funds.<\/p>\n
Vendors have also threatened to file a suit against PSS and the CNMI government for the delayed payments. The PSS and the government also may get sued if they don\u2019t remit the latter\u2019s quarterly Business Gross Revenue taxes by the end of January, according to the letter.<\/p>\n
Regular classes are supposed to resume on Jan. 11, 2005 for all public schools in the CNMI.<\/p>\n
Inos noted that the Commonwealth\u2019s students stand to be the biggest losers from the government\u2019s negligence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe students will have an extra day or two of vacation. By law we have to provide 180 days of instruction. So we might short change that 180 days of instruction for the children,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Benavente added that students would have to remainin their homes when the PSS shutdown happens.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey would just have to stay home,\u201d said Benavente, \u201cWhat can we do? We\u2019re not the one controlling the money. It\u2019s the administration; they are the one controlling the money.\u201d<\/p>\n
BOE officers also said they are not worried about the repercussions of their decision to shut down operations. The administrators said they are more worried about the students and the teachers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not PSS wanting to do this,\u201d said Inos, \u201cWe\u2019re forced to do this and forced to be in this situation because of cash [problems].\u201d<\/p>\n
Guererro, meanwhile, appealed to the governor to make a decision on the matter. He said that meetings, unfortunately, have not resolved anything.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s vacillating, He is the governor. He can make decisions. He can direct the Secretary of Finance to comply with the law and turn over the money,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He went on to say that PSS personnel should not be treated as second-class employees.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf money is short, they should distribute it equally or let his office be the first one not to get paid. I\u2019m expecting the governor to comply with the law, not to play with the law,\u201d said Guerrero.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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