By Moneth G. Deposa
Variety News Staff

VICE Speaker Justo S. Quitugua says Northern Marianas College should start looking at its priorities and stop the practice of spending money “unwisely.”
NMC shouldered the fare and per diem of the final two off-island candidates for the college presidency, Sharon Hart of North Dakota and Richard Carhart of Alabama.
The college did not disclose the amount.
NMC has a budget of $6.1 million in fiscal year 2007, but this will be reduced to $5.1 million when the 15.5 percent across-the-board spending cut is implemented.
“With the current budget situation at NMC, the college must be creative in spending its money. Paying for the fares and per diems of these two off-island candidates was not proper and they must stop that practice,” Quitugua, D-Saipan, said yesterday.
Quitugua said there are other ways to conduct interviews with off-island applicants.
“They could have interviewed them through teleconference,” he said.
Quitugua said he met with Hart and acting NMC president Danny Wyatt on Feb. 22.
“If I had known at that time about the case she had in her former college, I would have asked her about it,” he said.
Hart was voted out of her former job in a North Dakota college because of issues regarding her management and leadership style.
The NMC board was supposed to name the new president on Feb. 28.
Quitugua said re-announcing the position is “something that the board should look at.”