By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff

CERTAIN positions at the Guam Public School System would be exempted from the law against “double dipping” under a newly signed bill that seeks to enable the education agency to fill vacancies and meet the requirements of the Every Child is Entitled to Adequate Education Act.
Gov. Felix P. Camacho last week signed Bill 375 that establishes the Certified Augmentation Teacher Service Act or “CATS Act,” allowing the GPSS superintendent to rehire government retirees to fill certain positions required by the Adequate Education law.
Authored by then Sen. Bob Klitzkie, Bill 375, which is now Public Law 28-183, allows the retirees hired by GPSS to continue receiving their annuities while getting their regular salaries at the duration of their employment terms with the education agency.
The retirees, however, will be hired as “unclassified” employees and their employment terms would be good only until GPSS hires permanent certified employees for the positions identified in the bill.
Due to the perennial teacher recruitment problem, GPSS is currently authorized to re-hire retired teachers to fill in the positions at public schools. The retired teachers currently employed continue to receive their retirement benefits on top of their regular salaries.
P.L. 28-183 expands the list of eligible retirees to include certified professional administrators, guidance counselors, school health counselors, allied health professionals and librarians.
The positions identified in the bill are the ones that GPSS is mandated to fill when Public Law 28-45, the Every Child is Entitled to an Adequate Public Education Act, went into full effect on Oct. 1, 2007.