By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff

IN THE wake of recent violence in Guam schools, Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo yesterday facilitated a meeting between newly sworn in Attorney General Alicia G. Limtiaco and officials from the U.S. Department of Education to discuss the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program, and to learn how to better incorporate the program into local schools.
Bordallo said school safety is an issue of great concern to Guam due to recent incidents of school violence on island.
“School violence can have very tragic consequences and we have to step up to the plate to do more for our students’ sake. Attorney General Limtiaco and I discussed our concerns and the need for more resources with the federal officials and we hope that Guam will benefit from the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program,” the congresswoman said.
During the meeting, Bordallo discussed various grant funds provided by the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program that are available to the government of Guam.
She said these funds can help facilitate greater coordination among law enforcement, mental health and education officials on Guam toward ensuring that Guam public schools are healthy and safe environments for students, faculty and staff.
Limtiaco, on the other hand, was interested to learn more about certain federal education grant funds available to the government of Guam.
“This meeting was very informative. I have a better understanding of the federal education grants that are available to the government of Guam as a result of today’s meeting. As attorney general of Guam, I am committed to working in partnership with our Guam Public School System to provide for a safe, healthy and productive learning environment for our students and working environment for our teachers and staff. I thank Congresswoman Bordallo for facilitating this meeting, and I look forward to working with her on this issue and others in the future,” Limtiaco said in a statement.