But only 383 checks were released and the remaining 245 students are still waiting for funding from the Department of Finance, Jose C. Leon Guerrero, SHEFA awards committee chairman, said yesterday.
The 245 include 26 new applicants and 46 current off-island scholars, as well as 44 new applicants and 129 current scholars enrolled in the CNMI.
During the SHEFA board meeting yesterday, Leon Guerrero said the 383 checks that were released were for 114 new applicants and 61 current scholars on island, and 40 new applicants and 168 current scholars off-island.
He said there were eight checks that were returned for revision because of misspelled names for on-island scholars.
Maggie C. Camacho, acting chairwoman of the SHEFA board, reported that there was $29,000 left in the SHEFA account with the finance department last week.
She said she had yet to meet Lt. Gov. Eloy Inos to inquire about the availability of funds for the pending applications.
She said they have yet to receive the allotment from Saipan’s poker fees totaling $190,000 for Oct. 2010.
During the meeting, the board authorized Camacho to request the finance department to prioritize releasing checks for students enrolled off-island.
Camacho will also submit a separate request for a field study program.
Joe Mafnas, who attended the meeting as an observer, said SHEFA should submit all pending awards to the finance department.
The department should then talk to the parents of scholars waiting for their checks, he said.
“Let them worry about that,” Mafnas said, referring to the department.
His appointment to SHEFA has yet to be confirmed by the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation.
Also present in the meeting were board members Josephine T. Sablan and John K. Tenorio.
