By Emmanuel T. Erediano
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
THE Board of Education was scheduled to discuss, among other critical matters, a possible issue concerning the CNMI Supreme Court’s interpretation of the constitutionally mandated 25% allocation of government funds to the Public School System, during a special meeting on Capital Hill at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Because of an island-wide power outage, BOE Chairwoman Maisie B. Tenorio told reporters, “We have decided to table some of our critical items for another day.” She said the board wants to ensure that the public has full access to the meeting once power is restored.
Present at the meeting, aside from Tenorio, were Vice Chairman Anthony DLC Barcinas, Secretary/Treasurer Antonio L. Borja, and members Andrew Orsini, Kodep Ogumoro-Uludong, John S. Blanco, Dr. Dora B. Miura, and Jude Burgos. Also in attendance were Commissioner of Education Dr. Lawrence F. Camacho and other Public School System officials.
Orsini noted that many stakeholders were preparing to attend the meeting online when the power went out. He emphasized that the board wants to ensure members of the public can participate, either online or in person.
In addition to the CNMI Supreme Court’s slip opinion on the 25% funding for PSS, the board was scheduled to review Commissioner Camacho’s performance evaluation. Tenorio said the board would proceed with that portion of the agenda in an executive session.
Although the BOE office and conference room are powered by a generator, which allowed the board to conduct the meeting, Tenorio acknowledged that not everyone on the island may have access to Zoom or the live stream due to the outage. She reiterated that the board wants to remain in full compliance with the Open Government Act to ensure public access to the discussion on agenda items.
The board went into recess after unanimously voting to table most of the agenda items. Tenorio said everything was tabled except for the evaluation of the education commissioner’s performance, which proceeded in an executive session.
At around 11 a.m., the Public School System announced that power had been restored at all Saipan campuses, and schools would remain open and continue their regular schedule for the remainder of the day. PSS extended its appreciation to the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation crew for working diligently to restore power across the island.
Tenorio also thanked CUC for their efforts. “We know that this is a tough situation, so we are just trying to make the best of what we have,” she said.
Emmanuel “Arnold” Erediano has a bachelor of science degree in Journalism. He started his career as police beat reporter. Loves to cook. Eats death threats for breakfast.
