“The preliminary work is already being done to jumpstart this project,” she added.
But PSS and the administration have yet to identify the funding source for the new school, she said.
Sablan, along with PSS federal programs officer Tim Thornburgh, Board of Education CIP committee chairwoman Lucy Blanco Maratita, and PSS financial consultant Ed Tenorio, met with Gov. Benigno R. Fitial to discuss the project.
Sablan said the governor wants PSS to use the federal community development block grants, or CBDG, for the A&E design.
PSS finance director Richard Waldo has been tasked to work with the Northern Marianas Housing Corp. which oversees the CBDG provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
NMHC also purchased the lot for the school project using the same funding source.
By January, Sablan said they are expecting to get the official documents from Department of Public Lands regarding the land acquisition.
The proposed middle school will have 700 to 800 students, she added.
During a recent Board of Education meeting, Sablan presented the data regarding enrolment, teachers, students as well as staff attendance and suspension reports.
As of Nov. 10, PSS had an enrollment of 10,812 which is a 1.8 percent decline since classes opened last September, Sablan said.
She also noted a very high percentage of student attendance with some schools reporting a 94 to 99 percent attendance on a daily basis.
Tinian Elementary School and San Vicente Elementary School have the highest percentage of student attendance at 99 percent, Sablan said.
