“I’m honored to be serving as the chairman of the board. My fellow members and I are looking forward to working together to help Mt. Carmel do more with less by being as proactive as possible,” Taijeron told Variety.
The board held its annual corporate meeting on Thursday, July 28, at the school’s faculty lounge to elect new officers.
David Burger was elected as vice chairman; Rufin Inos, treasurer; and Charlotte Camacho, secretary.
The other board members are Joseph Pangelinan, Justice John Manglona, Jeffrey Sanchez, Frances Taimanao, Marcie Tomokane, Superintendent of Catholic Schools Fr. Ryan Jimenez and school president Margaret Dela Cruz.
During the meeting, the board approved the school year 2011-2012 budget, calendar and the course offering sequence for high school.
When asked about his goals as the new board chairman, Taijeron said working on the school curriculum is a major priority.
“I’m going to ask the board to consider looking at establishing a regularly scheduled SAT prep to go along with the [Advanced Placement] program support to help students get admitted to top colleges. We are also looking at the recruitment of more local staff teachers and ensuring that we will be able to keep our current staff,” he said.
On behalf of the diocese, Jimenez expressed appreciation for the current and new board members and encouraged them to work together to continue to improve Saipan’s only Catholic school.
Taijeron thanked everyone for their confidence and expressed his appreciation for Gilbert Saludez, Esther Fleming, Lynette Villagomez and Elizabeth Balajadia who have completed their term on the board. He especially thanked Balajadia who served the board for nine years.
According to Dela Cruz, “The annual corporate meeting was a very fruitful and productive meeting and was a clear indication of the support that the board of directors have for Mount Carmel School. I look forward to working with the new chairman as well as the rest of the board members.”
Taijeron has been on the board since 2007 and has been a consistent volunteer in various capacities such as mock trial attorney-coach with Board of Education member Galvin Deleon Guerrero and Attorney General Edward Buckingham.
Taijeron also served as the high school varsity volleyball coach and was one of the associate producers of the MCS Theatre Club’s recent film, “Zero to Hero.”
A former assistant attorney general and deputy attorney general, he graduated cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana with a bachelor’s degree in government and international studies and received his juris doctorate from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, California on a full academic scholarship.
He is a member of the CNMI Bar Association and Guam Bar Association and is licensed in all local and federal courts of Guam, the CNMI as well as in the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
