MORE students from private schools are anticipated to enroll in public schools this coming school year, but the Public School System’s budget proposal of $40.5 million for fiscal year 2003 may not be enough to accommodate them.
PSS Finance Director John Waldo told Variety that they underestimated the population of new students entering public schools.
The current population of public school students is over 10,000. Waldo said next school year, this could reach 11,000.
Waldo said the $40.5 million includes the budget of all schools in the CNMI, including the newly built Kagman Middle School and Koblerville High School.
Kagman Middle School will serve 6th, 7th and 8th grade students. This would mean hiring new teachers for the campus as well as additional expenses in maintaining its physical facilities.
Each school in the CNMI gets at least a $1.3 million budget annually, Waldo said.
The $5.6 million for Kagman and $4.8 million for Koblerville schools were financed by funds for capital improvement projects. The new schools are designed to ease the overcrowding of students in several public schools.
Marianas High School is currently the only public school offering secondary education. The campus sits on a 92,140-square meter property with at least 18 buildings.
Close to 2,000 students are currently enrolled this school year at MHS. Koblerville’s opening next school year is anticipated to reduce MHS’s student population.
There were 16 private elementary schools in the CNMI and 13 private schools offering secondary education as of Sept. 2000. About 3,000 students were enrolled in these schools.
