By Emmanuel T. Erediano
emmanuel@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
AFTER months of hoping lawmakers would deliver the promised “workable budget” for fiscal year 2026, the Public School System said it is now forced to act — cutting work hours and suspending Monday classes beginning Nov. 1 to avoid deficit spending.
PSS said it tried to delay cost-cutting as long as possible, waiting for the revised budget previously promised by both past and current administrations. PSS had hoped for $40 million and later $37.7 million — both workable figures that require cost-cutting measures.
However, the currently approved $31.7 million budget has forced PSS to implement cuts beyond central office personnel. PSS’s original submission was $49 million for FY 2026.
On Friday, after the House of Representatives failed to introduce a revised FY 2026 budget reflecting a higher workable figure for PSS — despite assurances from the administration — Commissioner of Education Dr. Lawrence F. Camacho announced that PSS would begin austerity measures effective Nov. 1.
These include:
– 64-hour work week.
– No school on Mondays for K-12 students.
– No work for employees on Mondays.
Until clarification is provided after the federal government shutdown is lifted, some federally funded programs will be temporarily exempt:
– Child Nutrition Program. Free meals for students will continue. Grab-and-Go meals will be distributed on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., with breakfast and lunch together. No after-school snacks will be provided. Students or guardians must present a current school year ID; photocopies are not accepted, and only one meal per student, per location, per day is allowed.
– Head Start/Early Head Start. Programs will operate on austerity days per current approved grants.
– Early Childhood-Special Education. Teachers, aides, and related providers will maintain an 80-hour work schedule to ensure services required under federal law.
– Early Intervention services. Uninterrupted for infants and toddlers (birth to age 3), as mandated under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
The federal government’s partial shutdown began on Oct. 1, 2025, and is ongoing.
Revised school calendar
In a four-page memorandum issued Friday, Camacho said a revised 2025-2026 K-12 school calendar will be released after the Board of Education approves it at the BOE’s next meeting. All PSS employees will receive a contract addendum on or before Tuesday, outlining the 64-hour work schedule and related austerity measures.
At risk
PSS said it is at risk of deficit spending if it continues under the current 80-hour work cycle. “In light of the financial constraints and without a more realistic appropriation, the Office of the Commissioner of Education must begin implementing cost-cutting measures to stay within the set budget,” Camacho wrote in his memorandum. “As previously communicated through budget town halls and official memoranda, if updated funding reflective of PSS’s true needs is not secured, the cost-cutting measures, rooted in fiscal responsibility, will take effect until a revised budget is approved.”
Despite meetings with the late Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and current Gov. David M. Apatang, assurances of a $37.7 million allocation have yet to materialize as a bill in the House of Representatives, PSS said. Under the Constitution, all fiscal legislation must originate in the House, though the executive branch submits the initial budget call.
Without a revised, workable budget, PSS said it faces the imminent risk of operating at a deficit with the current $31.7 million allocation. The original $49 million budget submission reflects the rising cost of educational services. It would cover salaries and benefits for nearly 1,500 teaching and non-teaching personnel, maintain 20 elementary, middle, and high school campuses, support central office operations, the Board of Education, and provide free transportation for all qualified students.
Public engagement
Three months ago, Camacho began a two-phase series of town halls on Rota, Tinian, and Saipan, meeting students, parents, teachers, staff, and the community to discuss reduced funding for FY 2026, which began Oct. 1.
Several scenarios were presented in response to the ongoing back-and-forth between the executive and legislative branches. The $31.7 million budget is one of the lowest in the system’s 37-year history. PSS postponed the work-hour reduction until Nov. 1, hoping the House would act on a revised budget.
Behind closed doors
Variety learned that on Wednesday, the Senate Fiscal Affairs and House Ways and Means committees met but issued no public statements regarding the PSS budget or the revised FY 2026 allocation.
Camacho said he and his fiscal team continued to engage the House and Senate fiscal committees, seeking assurance that at least the $37.7 million promised by the executive branch would be appropriated.
Lawmakers met with Camacho and his team behind closed doors on Thursday to review additional data, but no decision was reached. As of Friday, the House had still not acted on the budget.
Apatang submitted a revised FY 2026 budget reducing the total from $179 million to $156 million, based on a lower revenue forecast of $158 million. The proposed budget is contingent on a $29 million loan from the Marianas Public Land Trust and will require austerity measures, including a 64-hour work week for government employees.
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.
