By Moneth G. Deposa
Variety News Staff

GOVERNOR Benigno R. Fitial will spare the Public School System from the 15.6 percent budget cut while monitoring the spending habits of PSS, according to Press Secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr.
Reyes, in an interview yesterday, said the governor considers PSS a “protected class agency.”
“The governor is committed to sparing PSS and (the Department of) Public Health from budgetary reductions,” Reyes said. “In the submission of a revised budget for all agencies, the governor wants monitoring of their spending habits.”
The other agencies classified by the governor as essential are the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Corrections, Northern Marianas College and the Marianas Visitors Authority.
But Reyes said none of these agencies were mentioned during the cabinet meeting yesterday.
During Friday’s professional development day at Kagman High School, PSS federal programs officer and acting finance director Tim Thornburgh urged the school system’s personnel to reduce power and water consumption at their schools.
Thornburgh said schools may not receive a bigger budget for their campuses in “these difficult times.”