BY a vote of 4 to 1, the Board of Education on Tuesday elected Gregory Pat Borja as its new chairman.
Then-Vice Chairman Herman Atalig, Secretary/Treasurer Maisie B. Tenorio and board members Antonio L. Borja and Greg Borja himself voted for Greg Borja. The former chairman, Andrew Orsini, who nominated himself, voted against the election of his successor.
Greg Borja was nominated by Antonio Borja, and the nomination was seconded by Tenorio.
Antonio Borja was then elected vice chairman by a 4 to 1 vote. He was nominated by Tenorio. Orsini voted no.
Also by a vote of 4 to 1, with Orsini casting the lone dissenting vote, the board re-elected Tenorio as secretary/treasurer.
Teacher representative Phyllis Ain and student representative Jed Santa Theresa attended the BOE meeting via Zoom.
Prior to the vote, Orsini, who was elected chairman a year ago, took the opportunity to address the board and the public.
“When I came in as the chairman of the Board of Education, the Public School System saw its hardest times. The pandemic affected its ability to provide quality learning to students, the economy affected our ability to pay our teachers and the Public School System seemed unable to fulfill its constitutional mandate to provide education for all,” he said.
As chairman, he said he “made several promises to restore the working hours of teachers, get the students back in the classroom and to get the Public School System environmentally clean and financially sustainable.”
In addition, he said the board worked to provide every school with solar panels. “I am so happy to say that I kept and accomplished everything I promised,” Orsini added.
He reiterated that he supports voluntary and not forced vaccination, adding that he is pleased to know that the PSS has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world.
He said he also advocated for incentivizing employees with retention bonuses. “Unlike other school systems in the U.S. where large numbers of teachers were either resigning or walking out, CNMI school teachers continued working to confront the problems that arose,” he added.
He said PSS can “celebrate the fact that it is now focused on rebuilding damaged schools, emphasizing Chamorro and Carolinian education, and giving higher wages for school maintenance and support staff who have been working hard in schools for many years. I’ve been an advocate for all of these and can celebrate all these accomplishments.”
He noted that during his chairmanship, all the board’s decisions were made unanimously.
“The most difficult task is to keep the board members together,” he said, adding that he is grateful to his fellow board members.
“All these accomplishments would have been nothing without the board’s unanimous decision,” he said.
Vote of confidence
The new chairman, Gregory Borja, thanked his fellow board members for their vote of confidence.
A former Marine, long-time educator, sports coach and an advocate for the disabled and their families, Chairman Borja said he will “do my very best to serve our students, parents, our Public School System family, and our stakeholders of public education.”
He added, “I’d like to see us address what’s happening in terms of being able to return to face-to-face [classes] especially providing assistance to…families [of students who aren’t able to return to the classroom.”
He said he would continue to work with his colleagues and is “looking forward to working with our different committees to address the needs of our public education stakeholders.”
The new chairman is the son of long-time public educators: former Education Commissioner Dr. David Borja and former Marianas High School Principal Karen Borja.
Face to face
For his part, the new vice chairman, Antonio Borja, said: “Like I mentioned in our November meeting we have to go back to face-to-face because our students need it.”
“Guided by professionals and health experts, they [PSS officials] deemed that we have to go back to classroom learning. So, I believe in this leadership,” he added.
BOE Secretary/Treasurer Maisie B. Tenorio said she felt honored to be re-elected.
“I will continue to do my best to serve our constituents,” said Tenorio, who also chairs the Marianas Alliance of Non-Governmental Organizations and is the executive director of the Northern Marianas Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence.
Gregory P. Borja
Antonio Borja
Maisie Tenorio
