By Emmanuel T. Erediano
emmanuel@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
REPRESENTATIVE Blas Jonathan Attao on Tuesday pre-filed House Bill 24-70 to allow the Public School System to utilize $4.9 million of its unrestricted funds for fiscal year 2026.
The House Ways and Means Committee identified the funds amid looming austerity measures that PSS was set to implement next week.
PSS has submitted a $49.2 million budget for FY 2026, but Public Law 24-14, the FY 2026 spending measure, allocated only $31.7 million. Gov. David M. Apatang has submitted a proposed budget revision that would allocate $37.7 million for PSS, contingent on the CNMI government securing a $29 million loan from the Marianas Public Land Trust.
Citing the $17.5 million shortfall, H.B. 24-70 states:
“PSS has unrestricted funds available for its usage in the amount of $4,911,849 but needs legislative action in order to utilize the funds. Therefore, the intent of this Act is to allow PSS to utilize $4,911,849 of its unrestricted funds for Fiscal Year 2026.”
Unrestricted funds, according to a previous single audit on PSS, are part of the fund balance classified “based on the extent to which a government is bound to follow constraints on how resources can be spent….”
The PSS single audit for the year that ended Sept. 30, 2022, states:
“When both restricted and unrestricted resources are available for use, generally, it is PSS’ policy to use restricted resources first, then unrestricted resources as they are needed.”
Emmanuel “Arnold” Erediano has a bachelor of science degree in Journalism. He started his career as police beat reporter. Loves to cook. Eats death threats for breakfast.