Gov. David M. Apatang joins other CNMI officials, Education Commissioner Dr. Lawrence F. Camacho, Board of Education Chairman Aschumar Kodep Ogumoro-Uludong, BOE member Andrew L. Orsini, Northern Marianas Housing Corporation Chairwoman Merced Marcie Tomokane, and private-sector partners at the groundbreaking Tuesday for the new PSS Career Technical Education Center on the former site of Building T at Marianas High School.
MV photo
GOVERNOR David M. Apatang, Commissioner of Education Dr. Lawrence F. Camacho, Board of Education Chairman Kodep Ogumoro-Uludong, Northern Marianas Housing Corporation Chairwoman Marcie Tomokane, and other officials on Tuesday led the ceremonial groundbreaking for a career and technical education center at Marianas High School.
Joining them were Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez, Saipan Mayor Ramon Blas Camacho, MHS Principal Melanie Sablan Rdiall, Department of Public Works Secretary Ray N. Yumul, Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality Administrator Floyd Masga, BOE member Andrew Orsini, Rep. John Paul Sablan, Rep. Denita Yangetmai, Rep. Joel Camacho, Rep. Vincent Aldan, RNV Construction owner Ruel Villacrusis, and other PSS officials.
The $10.9 million project will build a two-story CTE Center with 16 classrooms and office spaces on the front grounds of the MHS campus facing Beach Road.
The center will offer technical courses in arts, automotive technology, welding, band/music, business, theater arts, digital media, graphic design, HVAC, cosmetology, health science/nurse assistant, culinary arts, hospitality, and more.
Funding sources include:
– U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery program, administered by the Northern Marianas Housing Corp.
– U.S. Department of Commerce-Economic Development Administration.
– Federal Emergency Management Agency-Public Assistance.
A step closer
Gov. David M. Apatang delivers his remarks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the future career and technical center at Marianas High School on Tuesday.
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
In his remarks, Apatang said, “Today, we are one step closer to finally picking up.” He thanked everyone involved in the project and recalled that when he was mayor of Saipan, he would drive past the site, see the building destroyed by Super Typhoon Yutu in 2018, and wonder when it would finally be rebuilt.
“After ceremonially breaking ground today, a new building will rise,” he said. “Once it’s done, it will awe motorists driving on Beach Road, as the MHS CTE Center will be an eye-catching landmark. But it must be about more than that. It is for the hundreds of MHS students who want to learn and acquire lifelong skills to succeed in today’s competitive job environment.”
“I am sure many worked long hours to get us to this point,” the governor added. “This project is long overdue, and while there were many acceptable excuses for past delays, that is all behind us. Our job now is to avoid any more delays. Anytime a potential delay arises, think of the students waiting for this building — their building. Do not stop. The students deserve not to wait any longer.”
Portrait of a graduate
Commissioner of Education Dr. Lawrence F. Camacho says the project is a major milestone for the Public School System and public education in the Commonwealth.
Education Commissioner Camacho said the project is a major milestone for the Public School System and public education in the Commonwealth. “It enables the CNMI to realize the vision of transforming our education system to produce the type of graduate we call the ‘portrait of a graduate,’” he said.
Camacho explained that the portrait of a graduate defines the type of high school graduate PSS aims to produce, ensuring students are trained with skills and knowledge needed for career pathways. Under this framework, PSS will develop academies at each high school, guiding students from middle school through high school to prepare for career opportunities and innovation.
“High school students are put directly into these pathways to become productive, responsible, and problem-solving individuals ready for the workforce,” Camacho said.
The future CTE building, he added, “is a signal of our commitment to producing graduates ready for college, career, and life. It will house enthusiastic instructors and eager students, providing opportunities for innovation, creativity, and skill development.”
Very exciting project
BOE Chairman Ogumoro-Uludong recalled that more than five years ago, while with the Office of Planning and Development, he and then-PSS Federal Programs Officer Tim Thornburgh discussed requesting U.S. EDA funds for the CTE facility. “Fast forward to today, and it is exciting to finally break ground on this project,” he said.
He noted that next spring, the CNMI will host the first-ever Micronesian Regional Education Summit, making the timing particularly fitting.
BOE member Orsini said, “This project will benefit all students from Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. It is a major leverage point for raising the level of education for our students. I am so grateful to God and to everyone who worked together to make this happen.”
RNV Construction’s Ruel Villacrusis added, “The project is more than brick and mortar. It represents an investment in the future workforce and community. The center will equip young minds with skills, tools, and confidence to thrive in vital regional industries.”
Background
Variety files show that the vision for a centralized Career and Technical Education facility in the Commonwealth began more than a decade ago. In the 2010-2011 school year, then-Commissioner of Education Dr. Rita A. Sablan and PSS Federal Programs Officer Tim Thornburgh outlined a plan to expand career pathways for public high school graduates.
What started as a reimagining of PSS’s Alternative Education program grew into the foundation for a district-wide CTE program, with a long-term goal of creating a dedicated center.
By 2014, the Board of Education, led at the time by Chairman Herman T. Guerrero, approved MHS as the site for the new CTE Center. The chosen location, known as Building T, was later destroyed by Super Typhoon Yutu in 2018, further underscoring the need for modern, resilient infrastructure to serve students.
In September 2021, then-U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan announced that PSS had been awarded a $6 million grant for the construction of the new CTE center at the approved MHS site.
In the years that followed, multiple local and federal agencies collaborated to keep the project alive.
The new two-story building, estimated at about 50,000 square feet, will house classrooms, shops, and laboratories designed to prepare students for college and careers. As a centralized hub, it will serve an estimated 600 students from Rota, Tinian, and Saipan enrolled in various career pathways.