From left, Board of Education members Maisie B. Tenorio and Gregory Pat Borja with Chairman Antonio L. Borja attend an emergency BOE meeting Tuesday on Capital Hill.
THE Board of Education held an emergency meeting on Tuesday to consider whether to sue the CNMI government for failing to provide the Public School System 25% of the annual budget as mandated by the CNMI Constitution.
Asked for comment, acting Gov. David M. Apatang said the administration is committed to meeting its constitutional obligation to PSS by transmitting funds as soon as they are available. Last week, he said, the Department of Finance transmitted over $2 million to PSS. The outstanding balance is about $7 million, he added.
“Hopefully, by the end of the fiscal year, the government will be able to take care of the 25% that is due to PSS,” Apatang said.
In the revised fiscal year 2023 budget, PSS was allotted $28.8 million, which, according to the administration, is 25% of the government’s annual budget amounting to $116.1 million.
BOE Chairman Antonio L. Borja of Tinian said he doesn’t know if it is the right time to sue the government, which is already implementing austerity measures.
He also wants to know how a lawsuit would affect the students.
He said he agrees that something needs to be done to ensure that PSS receives 25% of the government’s annual budget, “but I don’t know if this is the right timing.”
BOE Vice Chairman Herman Atalig said he cannot “in good faith” move forward with a lawsuit at this time. He recommended the option offered by former BOE Chairman Herman T. Guerrero who spoke during the public comment section.
Guerrero said instead of bringing the government to court, “why not negotiate a settlement plan.”
BOE member Gregory Pat Borja of Saipan echoed Atalig’s sentiment. But he said his biggest concern is if PSS receives the money owed by the government, “are we going to spend it right?”
BOE member Maise B. Tenorio of Saipan said she supports filing a “petition for injunctive and declaratory relief concerning constitutionally required funding levels for PSS.”
She said there is never going to be a good time for them to say, “our kids deserve the 25%.”
As for negotiating a payment plan with the government, Tenorio said, “We did try. We tried diligently to negotiate, to offer ideas, to have a conversation. But unfortunately, those attempts [were not] productive, which is why we are here now.”
She believes that the board did its due diligence to reach out to the government and bring to its attention BOE’s concerns on behalf of the students,
She said they asked the government “to come to the table and discuss [the issue.] Unfortunately, those never happened. And we are at a time now when we have to make a difficult decision. And all I have to say is, I am in support of [seeking an] injunction,” Tenorio added.
Following a closed-door meeting during which the board discussed a “legal strategy” in pursuing an injunction, it was the consensus of the members not to sue the government “at this time.”
Chairman Borja said “when we have a permanent commissioner of education, once the decision is made to hire a new one, we are going to continue to push for whatever decision has to be made,” referring to a possible lawsuit.
Board member Andrew Orsini of Saipan recalled that in Feb. 2020, the BOE, by a vote of three in favor and two against, directed the then-commissioner of education to take the government to court over the PSS budget.
But after a new member from Tinian came on board, the BOE asked the commissioner to withdraw the lawsuit, Orsini said.
On Oct. 20, 2020, then-board member Phillip Mendiola-Long of Tinian resigned. He was one of the three BOE members in favor of suing the government.
On Oct. 30, 2020, his successor, Antonio L. Borja, was sworn in. In the 2022 election, Borja ran unopposed on Tinian.
