By Moneth G. Deposa
Variety News Staff

THE House Committee on Education supports the retention of the Public School System’s $38.6 million budget, but will not propose supplemental funding for its operations.
Vice Speaker Justo S. Quitugua, D-Saipan, said the House legal counsel is now reviewing draft legislation which will be introduced in next week’s session.
“The draft is now being reviewed by the legal counsel and hopefully will be introduced next session. The bill will restore the level funding PSS received from P.L. 15-28 (the government’s FY 2007 budget), which is $38.6 million. That’s the only assurance we can give to the system. We will not give them a supplemental budget,” the lawmaker said.
Last Wednesday, Board of Education Chairman Roman C. Benavente and Education Commissioner David M. Borja sent a follow-up letter to the House regarding their request to be spared from the impending budget cuts.
They said it will result in the loss of nearly 1,000 employees at PSS.
“P.L. 15-24 provided PSS with a $1.4 million budget increase but also required the payment of utilities which are costing $3.6 million. Therefore, PSS actually received a $2.2 million budget cut with the passage of the FY ‘07 budget,” the education officials said in their letter dated April 11.
Quitugua said “the only plan is to restore the 15.6 percent…no more no less — although PSS is asking for operational costs, we cannot give them more than what is appropriated in P.L .15-28.”
Borja and Benavente said the PSS budget is $3 million lower than it was in 1997 and 1998.
“PSS has opened six new schools and added over 2,500 more students since 1997 and now has a student enrollment of over 11,600 students. Further, SAT 10 scores for our public school students show an upward trend despite the downward trend in the local investment in the education of our children,” they said.
The school system’s request for additional funds was mentioned by Benavente during a recent interview with this reporter.
He said student learning will be greatly affected if support staff members are terminated as a result of the school system’s lack of funds.
Quitugua said that as much as the Legislature wants to provide assistance to PSS “we don’t know where we will get the supplemental budget.”
He said it is the administration that has to identify and certify the availability of the funding before the Legislature can pass an appropriation measure.