By Moneth G. Deposa
Variety News Staff

THE U.S. Department of Education last week approved a $9.2 million consolidated grant for the CNMI Public School System for school year 2008-2009.
PSS federal programs officer Tim Thornburgh said of this figure, $800,000 is reserved for assessment, $188,148 for state administrative costs, and $8.3 million for professional school improvements as well as instructional materials and equipment for public and private schools.
The funding reserved for professional school development is $1 million of which private schools will get $170,588 and public schools, $895,589.
Thornburgh said the public schools’ Saturday reading program will get $200,000; computers and printers, $500,000; academic competitions and events $130,000; and monitoring and mentoring novice teachers, $65,589.
Thornburgh said 85 percent of the grant, or $7.1 million, is allotted for local use of private and public schools.
Private schools will get $1.1 million and public schools, $5.9 million, for the following: instructional materials and equipment, $3 million; class size reduction, $1.3 million; professional development for principals and teachers, $200,000; tutorials and mentoring which include the Troops to Teacher and after-school programs, $1.3 million; and reading resource teachers, $91,306.
“This is the first time the USDOE granted a funding request for the salaries of reading resource teachers which we included in our application,” Thornburgh told Variety.
He said 23 reading resource teachers will be hired by PSS for its 20 public schools.
The USDOE also approved the use of last year’s $1 million surplus from the CNMI’s SY 2007-2008 consolidated grant to cover the salaries of these teachers.