HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — An emergency measure meant to speed along the repair of public schools in the wake of Typhoon Mawar was vetoed by Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero, who said it would hinder, rather than help, school recovery.
Bill 136-37 would authorize the Guam Department of Education to circumvent the local government’s notoriously slow procurement process as it prepares for the upcoming school year, and award contracts based on how soon a service can be delivered, instead of how competitive the vendor’s price is.
It was meant as a compromise from legislative education chair Sen. Chris Barnett, who declined to budge on a June 30 deadline for schools to get in line with sanitation regulations or be shut down.
But GDOE already is going through emergency procurement channels, according to a veto message from the governor and a letter from Judi Won Pat, who ended her stint as acting superintendent of education on June 30. Bill 136-37 would only add more responsibility onto the plates of school officials, both stated.
Won Pat, in a letter to governor, said she was grateful for the bill’s intent, but said it “reiterates the authority already granted to GDOE” to seek emergency procurement. A section of the bill that requires school officials to report details about any procurement awards, including cost and vendor names, “actually adds more steps and requirements to GDOE,” she wrote.
The measure “only adds more duties and requirements in a time where GDOE is already far behind making the necessary improvements from Typhoon Mawar and for opening schools,” Won Pat asserted.
The governor, in a letter to Speaker Therese Terlaje, also said the bill would limit GDOE’s ability to seek emergency procurement to just 120 days.
“I cannot agree to place additional constraints on the department’s ability to use the statutory emergency procurement process,” Leon Guerrero said.
A statement from the Office of the Governor called Barnett’s measure “well-intentioned,” but “flawed.”
Bill 136-37 was passed during emergency session late last month, as the June 30 deadline for typhoon-damaged schools to comply with sanitation regulations loomed. The deadline has come and gone, and all 41 schools have since seen their sanitary permits expire, the Post reported.
It’s unknown if the bill, which passed with eight votes in support, will garner the 10 votes from lawmakers needed to overcome the veto. It drew opposition from Republican senators, who criticized the lack of input from GDOE.
“It’s unfortunate the former acting superintendent and Adelup think transparency is a ‘bureaucratic hurdle,'” Barnett said in a statement to the Post. “The additional requirements and they call ‘burdensome’ were added to the bill as extra safeguards and as a way for the Legislature to monitor the progress of school repair projects in a way that’s more timely than existing requirements because of the urgency of the state of our schools and the enormity of the projects we have to undertake to finally give our students the facilities they deserve.”
He noted that “slow” procurement was repeatedly pointed to as the cause for poor conditions in local schools, but said he was encouraged if GDOE leadership believed that the schools could be fixed without legislative help.
“I’m also encouraged to see Adelup finally wanting to support our public school system – that’s a big change from the last (4-1/2) years,” he said.
The entrance to Adacao Elementary School is seen Monday, July 3, 2023, in Mangilao.
