By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff

GUAM Public School System employees are on the edge again as today is another GPSS payday and although the administration has announced that it will secure a $6 million line of credit to take care of the GPSS payroll, employees interviewed by Variety said they will only believe it when they see their checks.
Worse, the public school system is facing disconnection again by the Guam Power Authority.
GPA threatened to disconnect the public school system yesterday but has extended the deadline and given GPSS until today to make good on its $900,000 bill.
If the utility is not paid today, GPA said it may start disconnection procedures against the public school system on Monday, beginning with the GPSS central administration offices.
As for the $6 million line of credit, GPSS Superintendent Luis Reyes said he is confident that the public school system will make payroll today.
But he pointed out that the $6 million will only cover payroll and that GPSS has other pressing bills that need to be paid, especially its debts with its vendors.
Acting Gov. Michael W. Cruz has already met with public school officials and a representative from the Attorney General’s Office to discuss fiscal measures that will help GPSS stay within its $172 million budget.
Attorney Alberto Tolentino, Guam Education Policy Board chairman Peter Alecxis Ada, GPSS Superintendent Luis Reyes, and GPSS chief financial officer Pete Tajalle participated in the talks.
During the meeting, GPSS officials committed to paying down outstanding vendor debts and meeting core operating requirements within its $172 million budget appropriation.
“We had a very productive working session where we all helped to come up with a realistic solution to GPSS’s financial challenges,” Cruz said.
According to the governor’s office, the administration has met the cash disbursement schedule from the beginning of this fiscal year through February 2007.
However, GPSS continues to fall behind on payments to vendors and in payroll expenses.
“I was very pleased with the meeting because we finally sat with all the parties in a position to make a difference and we’ll continue this dialogue in the interests of helping our students,” Reyes said.
In the meeting, GPSS officials announced that they are now making budget cuts and adjustments.
They spoke with Cruz about cost containment measures that GPSS is taking to hold the line on spending, adding that they will not hire additional personnel and will use the savings to pay some vendors.
They indicated that the savings generated will allow them to pay down GPSS payables and stay within its $172 million budget appropriation.
“On behalf of the Board of Education, I want to thank the acting governor for looking at every possible avenue to avoid a payless payday for GPSS in light of the financial constraints of this government,” Ada said.
According to the governor’s office, Vice Speaker Eddie Calvo, R-Maite and chairman of the legislative finance committee, was invited to the meeting but did not attend.