By Moneth G. Deposa
Variety News Staff

THE Board of Education’s committee on fiscal affairs and personnel will meet with Finance Secretary Eloy Inos to discuss the budget of the Public School System.
Committee vice chairman Herman T. Guerrero yesterday said they will meet with Inos at the education commissioner’s office on Capital Hill.
Yesterday, Inos and special assistant for management and budget Antonio Muna presented budget updates to the House of Representatives.
Guerrero said they want to know the administration’s budget plan for PSS.
This fiscal year, the government allocated $38.6 million to PSS, a $1.4 million increase from the previous budget resolution of $37.2 million. However, PSS is now required to pay for its own utilities projected to reach $4 million annually.
Guerrero said PSS and the Board of Education want to how the schools can get additional funding.
Other government agencies are also requesting exemptions from budget cuts.
Some schools, parents, and students are planning to gather at the Legislature today.
“They can do whatever they want...but they must make sure they are doing it not on government time when teachers and students are supposed to be learning,” Guerrero said.
A teacher, who declined to be identified, said they have started receiving “notification” this week. “The memo I got says that we (teachers) will be getting 90-day notices of layoffs (not just support staff) pending the Legislature’s restoration of funding it borrowed last fiscal year from PSS. This means that school would not start until Oct. 1, and all PSS would be shut down on June 10. According to a principal I talked to, we (teachers) would be paid until the next school year, as that money is actually earned August to the end of June. This layoff notice is a safety measure in case the Legislature doesn’t restore funding to PSS. If this happens, it won’t open until October.”
Asked for comment, Education Commissioner David Borja admitted that a “draft letter” has been discussed but the notification has yet to be issued to the teachers.