THE Board of Education has asked the administration to help private schools because the Public School System may not have the financial capability to absorb private school students whose families were affected by the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
BOE Chairman Andrew Orsini told the House Education Committee last week that some private schools may have to shut down because a lot parents who lost their jobs or were furloughed can no longer afford to pay tuition fees.
BOE member Ron Snyder, who represents private schools, brought up this issue during a board meeting two weeks ago, Orsini said.
Snyder asked the other BOE members how the government can assist private schools, which have a total of over 2,800 students this school year.
Orsini said he asked the board’s financial committee to look into the matter. The committee, he added, has determined that PSS, which has about 10,000 students, cannot afford to absorb the students who will have to transfer from private to public schools.
Orsini said it’s going to be a serious problem for PSS, which is now facing a shortage of teachers while dealing with the public health protocols and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the mental health of its students.
Orsini said they met with Gov. Ralph DLG Torres who told them that “he will look into it.”
The BOE chairman noted that the federal government provided the CNMI with $12 million in Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Funds.
The education board asked the governor if he could tap a portion of the funds to help private schools, Orsini said.
Board of Education Chairman Andrew Orsini and Education Commissioner Alfred Ada, right, back to the camera, field questions from members of the House Committee on Education last week.
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
