By Trina A. San Agustin
Variety News Staff

THE Guam Public School System received from the Department of Administration $1.2 million on Monday to pay for their overdue February power bill and a promissory note.
But GPSS Superintendent Luis Reyes said the money was used to pay for payroll vendors.
In March, the Attorney General’s Office, on behalf of the Department of Labor, sued GPSS for its failure to pay the full payroll of GPSS employees.
Reyes is bound by a preliminary injunction not to pay any other vendor, even utility bills, besides payroll in arrears.
The balance left, after yesterday’s payment on payroll vendors, is $2.1 million.
Reyes told Variety that he cannot use the m oney he got from the administration to pay the Guam Power Authority.
“From what I understand, if we do not pay the bill today (Tuesday) then the GPSS central offices will be disconnected Wednesday,” he said.
GPA spokesperson Art Perez told Variety that as of 4:30 p.m. yesterday, the utility agency had yet to receive payment from GPSS.
“We are scheduled for disconnection sometime tomorrow morning,” Perez said. “The disconnection time is unknown at this point as crews will be disconnecting other accounts in arrears as well. To disconnect an account this large, crews will have to utilize a bucket truck.”
Meanwhile, Gov. Felix P. Camacho’s chief of staff, George Bamba, asked the Consolidated Commission on Utilities to give GPSS another day to make a payment.
“After speaking to CCU chairman Simon Sanchez, he agreed to extend the deadline by one more day so we have more time to give yet more money to GPSS for their power bill,” Bamba said.
But this request and approval of an extension did not rest well with those in Adelup. Bamba said before they release any more funds to GPSS, they need to know the exact amount needed to pay the power bill.