“The SHEFA office and the board apologize to the students who are still waiting for their checks,” he added.
He said if possible, recipients can pay their tuition expenses and any incurred fees until such time that funding is released by the Department of Finance.
Because of the delay, Hofschneider said their office is being bombarded with calls from students and parents.
His office, he added, receives an average of 60 calls every day inquiring about the government’s failure to release their financial assistance.
“Some are frustrated and angry. They want to know why there’s a delay,” he told Variety.
As of Wednesday, Hofschneider said his office had not received any advisory from the Department of Finance regarding the release of checks.
“There’s not enough cash to disburse,” he was told by the department.
On Aug. 11, Finance released checks in the total amount of $148,000 to SHEFA scholars.
There are pending checks submitted to Finance department for 2011 spring amounting to $13,400, Hofschneider said.
For this fall 2011 term, he said 512 students are still waiting for their checks.
The total pending awards for this fall period amount to $852,000, he added.
SHEFA’s funding source is Saipan’s poker license fee collections.
