Public comments in response to House Legislative Initiative 24-1 during the Oct. 9, 2025, House session. Introduced by Rep. Blas Jonathan T. Attao, H.L.I. 24-1 would clarify that the Public School System’s 25% guaranteed appropriation “shall be calculated on the net general revenues after crediting debt service and statutory obligations.”
GOOD afternoon Mr. Speaker and members of this esteemed and honorable lawmaking body.
I am Lawrence Fejeran Camacho, state education chief and commissioner of education for the CNMI Public School System. As you already know, we have over 8,000 students, in 20 schools, 10 Head Start centers, operating on 3 different islands, with over 1,200 employees.
Thank you for the opportunity to advocate and express my concern; as I am looking forward to the healthy debate and a sound decision you are about to make this afternoon…
Article XV(e) of our CNMI Constitution is not just a budget rule. It is a promise — a promise that our children’s education will always be protected, no matter who is in office or how politics may change from year to year.
When the people of the Commonwealth voted in 2014 to raise the Public School System’s guaranteed funding from 15 to 25 percent of general revenues, they spoke clearly and overwhelmingly in favor of that change. The people understood what was at stake. They wanted to give our schools and our children stability, and they made that promise part of our Constitution so that future leaders could not easily take it away.
Yet, today…this very same Legislature is going against its own findings and recommendation — the very conclusion reached by your predecessors who recognized how vital and critical this support is.
The CNMI Supreme Court confirmed this in “In re Petition for Certified Question (2020 MP 2).” The Court said that the drafters of our Constitution wanted to make sure PSS would always receive a fair and steady share of funding — even when government revenues go up or down. The Court explained that this 25% guarantee was meant to protect the school system from political uncertainty and to make sure education always comes first.
In the Fiscal Year 2025 budget, the Governor reported total revenues of $179.7 million. After subtracting $10.1 million in earmarked funds, that leaves $169.6 million in general revenues.
Under the Constitution, PSS should have received 25% of that amount — or $42.4 million.
Instead, the Legislature only appropriated $31.7 million.
That’s a shortfall of $10.7 million — money that could have kept teachers working full time, maintained 180 instructional days, and protected school accreditation — which by the way, I am pleased to report — that our accreditation is reassured for the time being. Ten million dollars may not seem like much in the government’s budget, but for our students and teachers, it means everything.
Now, with House Legislative Initiative 24-1 and House Bill 24-33, the Legislature is trying to redefine what “general revenues” mean. If these measures pass, they will reduce the guaranteed amount PSS receives every year, cutting into the very funding the Constitution was written to protect. That goes directly against the Supreme Court’s decision and the will of the voters who wanted schools to be safe —from exactly this kind of political change.
The Board of Education and the Public School System have both a constitutional and moral duty to defend the 25% guarantee. Any law that weakens that promise would not only violate the Constitution — it would break faith with our people.
Changing that protection today sends the wrong message — that our children’s education is less important now than it was in 2014.
But keeping the 25% guarantee honors the vote of the people, respects the Supreme Court’s ruling, and proves that we still believe education is not just a cost — it is an investment in our children, our teachers, and the future of our islands.
Si Yu’us Ma’ase yan Olaamwai!
The author, Dr. Lawrence F. Camacho, is the CNMI’s commissioner of education.
