School principals, teachers, parents and top Public School System officials gathered in the House gallery yesterday to warn lawmakers about the impact of passing Senate Bill 17-68 on CNMI education.
Echoing these concerns, the House minority bloc members argued against the measure’s passage but they were outnumbered.
By a vote of 11 to 7, the bill now goes to Gov. Benigno R. Fitial.
Rep. Raymond D. Palacios, Covenant-Saipan, was absent while Rep. Edmund S. Villagomez, Covenant-Saipan, abstained.
Those who voted no were House Minority Leader Diego T. Benavente, R-Saipan; Reps. Francisco S. Dela Cruz, R-Saipan; Joseph P. Deleon Guerrero, R-Saipan; Tony P. Sablan, R-Saipan, Ray A. Tebuteb, R-Saipan; Ray N. Yumul, R-Saipan; and Teresita A. Santos, Ind-Rota.
Santos said she was in support of the bill until she heard the statements of the educators.
Those who voted yes were Speaker Eli C. Cabrera, R-Saipan; Vice Speaker Felicidad T. Ogumoro, Covenant-Saipan; House Floor Leader George N. Camacho, Ind.-Saipan; Reps. Froilan C. Tenorio, Covenant-Saipan; Joseph M. Palacios, R-Saipan; Stanley T. Torres, Ind.-Saipan; Fredrick P. Guerrero, Ind.-Saipan; Ralph S. Demapan, Covenant-Saipan; Sylvestre I. Iguel, Covenant-Saipan; Trenton B. Conner, R-Tinian; and Ramon S. Basa, Covenant-Saipan.
Introduced by Sen. Juan M. Ayuyu, Ind.-Rota, S.B. 17-68 will suspend the ETC program during the austerity period.
Speaker Cabrera assured in an interview after the session that the suspension will be “temporary” and will give the Legislature a clear view of “what really is going on with the ETC program.”
Cabrera said they want to see exactly how many recipients benefit from the program every year and how much they are receiving.
He said the government, through the Department of Finance, should monitor how many students each recipient school actually has.
Rep. Joseph M. Palacios claimed that there is a school that has been abusing the ETC program and is now being investigated.
“I hate to say this but somebody is going to jail because of this abuse in ETC,” he said, adding that fixing up this problem by temporary suspension means, “we care.”
He did not mention the school’s name.
Tenorio said the Legislature wants to “protect” the interest of public school students that is why they want to suspend the ETC program.
He said they care about public schools. As governor in Oct. 1997, Tenorio rejected the bill creating the program but the Legislature, led by then-Speaker Benavente, succeeded in overriding his veto.
ETC donations go directly to schools and are deducted from the taxes to be paid to the government by the donor. Suspending the program means the funds that should have been given to schools will instead go to the general fund of the cash-strapped CNMI government that has been unable to meet payroll and pay its other obligations on time.
Board of Education member Herman T. Guerrero said they don’t believe the suspension of the program is going to be temporary.
There have been so many things taken away from education that were supposedly temporary but have eventually become permanent, said the former House member.
“How long is this going to be temporary?” he asked the lawmakers and begged them not to make the bill’s intent open-ended.
He urged them not to create more problems for the commonwealth’s education system.
“Don’t penalize the children,” he said.
Saipan Seventh-Day Adventist School principal Michael Berglund, who said he was speaking as a parent, described the bill as “short-sighted.”
Passing it would hurt the economy in the long run, he added. “Things don’t usually come back when they are taken away,” he said.
Board of Education vice chairwoman D. Tanya King asked the lawmakers to look at other alternatives instead of suspending the ETC program.
Joycelyn Atalig, student representative to BOE, said funding issues have been a great problem for PSS and that is why ETC has become an important part of the education system.
PSS federal programs coordinator Tim Thornbough said lawmakers should hear from parents first before acting on the bill.
Marianas High School principal Craig Garrison said he can provide the Legislature the receipts for all the ETC donations received by MHS and how they used them for the school.
Pastor Ray Kinsella of Grace Christian Academey noted that those in the gallery opposed to the measure are educators.
“I think the message is very clear and unanimous,” he said.
Norman Scott, principal of Calvary Christian Academy and president of the Coalition of Private Schools, said there seems to be no impact study that was done before the bill was introduced.
He invited lawmakers to visit schools and see for themselves how ETC benefits them.
Yvonne R. Pangelinan, Garapan Elementary School principal, said the ETC donations they get may not be a lot of money but it makes a big difference for students as these allow them to compete off-island.
Benavente said he will urge parents, students and other members of the community to ask the governor to veto the bill.
