HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Joann Camacho was not the first choice to fill the position of deputy superintendent of finance and administrative services for the Guam Department of Education. In fact, the role was to be fulfilled by former Sen. Carmen F. Fernandez.
The Guam Daily Post obtained the selection letter for Fernandez dated Sept. 25, 2023, from GDOE’s Personnel Services Division.
The letter, signed by Personnel Services Administrator Katherine Ada, notified Fernandez that she was selected for the position of deputy superintendent of finance and administrative services following an interview on Aug. 17, 2023.
Fernandez was congratulated and told to report to GDOE’s Human Resources Division by Oct. 16, 2023, to complete forms for employment.
However, later in October during the Guam Education Board meeting, GDOE Superintendent Kenneth Erik Swanson introduced Camacho as the new deputy of finance.
What happened and why?
Swanson didn’t divulge the details of what transpired but indicated that Fernandez’s selection was withdrawn. He said, “In regards with the deputy superintendent position, this is an unclassified position and ‘at will’ by the superintendent.”
Fernandez has a background in finance that could have served the department well, if not for her troubled past.
During the time frame when Fernandez was hired and told to report to GDOE HR, Kandit News Group, a local media company, questioned Fernandez’s selection on the grounds that the former senator and Saipan business owner’s past involved allegations of impropriety.
Fernandez’s selection faced scrutiny from GEB Chair Mary Okada who called for a background check.
By the end of October, Camacho was handed the reins of GDOE’s finances as the deputy superintendent of finance and administrative services, but it was made apparent that Camacho is still learning the ropes.
As deputy of finance, Camacho is responsible for putting together the department’s fiscal year budget with the help of a team, but while Camacho has a wealth of experience in the private sector, this was her first time formulating a government of Guam budget.
In fact, Swanson, who is eight months into the role as superintendent, reportedly asserted that the “whole budget team was made up of rookies.”
The lack of experience concerned Sen. Chris Barnett, legislative committee on education chair, who on Thursday was critical of the department’s failure to meet the Jan. 31 legal deadline to submit their fiscal year 2025 budget request to the Guam Legislature.
But this is not the first time the senator raised concerns over the lack of experience. The Post obtained a Dec. 29, 2023, letter the senator wrote to Swanson.
“It has come to my attention that you are attempting to detail staff from the GDOE Internal Audit Office to the Finance division to assist with the formulation of the fiscal year 2025 budget. I encourage you to cease this effort at once,” the senator wrote to Swanson.
The letter contained a screenshot of the department’s Internal Audit Office Charter with a paragraph under Independence and Objectivity that stated “IAO will have no direct operational responsibility or authority over any of the activities audited. Accordingly, IAO will not implement controls, develop procedures, install systems, prepare records or engage in any other activity that may impair judgment.”
In the letter, Barnett said, “It’s imperative that you hire qualified and experienced personnel who are familiar with the complexities of government budgeting when you fill critical positions in finance and other divisions within the department.”
In recent years, GDOE’s Chief Auditor Frank Cooper-Nurse was reassigned to the Finance division. In his capacity as acting deputy of finance, he formulated the department’s fiscal year budget. With the appointment of Camacho, Cooper-Nurse returned to the IAO.
“Mr. Cooper-Nurse, in his capacity as internal auditor, was minimally engaged in the budget formulation discussions due to legal restrictions on his involvement,” Swanson said.
As of March 11, the fiscal 2025 budget was in its fifth draft and still needed to be revised further due to issues with improper budgeting.
Specifically, inaccurate projections and the addition of indirect cost employees to the staffing pattern drove up the budget request by $1 million.
“The budget team, dedicated to crafting the budget, faced challenges stemming from a lack of familiarity with GDOE and GovGuam’s unique processes. The insights gained from this year’s experience are anticipated to be invaluable for the forthcoming budget cycle,” Swanson said.
On Friday, Barnett responded to questions about his letter to Swanson, telling the Post it was over Camacho’s hire.
“The superintendent responded to me at the time that the deputy superintendent they were hiring had ‘worked at just about every big business on Guam.’ I would just say it doesn’t look like that experience has helped at all in formulating a workable budget for the Guam Department of Education. I want to see GDOE and the Guam Education Board work through their differences so we can roll up our sleeves and get to the hard work of funding the Department of Education,” Barnett said.
Guam Department of Education Deputy Superintendent of Finance and Administrative Services Joann Camacho, left, and controller Moonsu “Adam” Shin look over financial reports during a meeting on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, in Tiyan.
