“I suppose it would be typical that parent-teacher meetings historically have low turnouts. That is a huge problem in schools today, not just the CNMI, but also on a national scale,” he told Variety.
The recent protest action against him by an MHS teacher could be a factor, he said.
“It took focus away from what we really should be focused on, which are the children, the school and education. It cast such negative aspersions on the school that it probably drove people away from serious things that they should be paying attention to: the children and school.”
He added, “All things considered, this is the first time ever that the school — an “A” school —has ever done anything like this,” said Garrison.
He said he looks forward getting more parents involved in the future meetings.
MHS vice principal Cherlyn Cabrera said, “Sometimes we had meetings where we don’t have a lot of parents. That is not to say we don’t have a lot of parent participation because they are very active in their kids’ life.”
She said the presentation given by Garrison last Saturday reminded everyone of the changes being implemented at the island’s oldest public high school.
“He has done a lot of things. He has taken a lot of risks,” Cabrera said, referring to Garrison.
During the meeting attended by some 20 parents, Garrison asked: “What do kind of school do you want for your children? Do you want a great school?”
He challenged the parents to be proactive. “If you want a great school, then step up because that is what it takes. I can’t do it by myself. It’s impossible.”
Garrison also mentioned a number of projects that would have been realized with the funding from the education tax credit program which lawmakers want to suspend.
With no federal money to rely on and with suspension of the ETC on the verge of becoming a law, the Public School System is in crisis, he said.
Garrison at the same time reiterated that no “walking papers” were given out to 20 MHS teachers.
Those teachers, he added, received reassignment letters and were not let go.
“It is not that I am letting them go. I am giving them a job,” he said. “It is irresponsible of me to keep teachers where they are not needed. This is the reality. PSS hired a bunch of people with [federal] ARRA money. That money is over.”
He explained that the vocational program in high schools was funded by federal money, “now all of the sudden, there is no local budget.”
PSS would have to cut jobs, he said. “There is no way about it.”
