The Tinian legislative delegation chairman, Sen. Joseph M. Mendiola, requested NMC President Carmen Fernandez to allow the temporary use of the college’s Tinian instructional site for the classes of junior and senior students.
The transformer project is being completed at the public school and it is expected to be finished in nine months.
“The school is currently awaiting the completion of the electrical upgrade project which involves a replacement of the transformer at the school,” said Mendiola, Covenant-Tinian. “It may take as long as nine months for the project to be completed due to the lead time needed to manufacture the transformer and transport it to Tinian.”
The senator said classes should not be delayed, but the current transformer at the school is inadequate to meet all its electrical needs, and there is a possibility of the transformer malfunctioning and leaving the campus without any electricity.
To prevent the untimely malfunctioning of the current transformer, Mendiola said the school and the community leaders on Tinian met to discuss the issue and developed a backup plan in the event that the campus is left without power before the transformer project is completed.
“The group decided to be proactive and instead of merely planning for when the transformer goes out, the school will try to alleviate the current demand on the transformer in order to hold in abeyance, as long as possible, the untimely malfunctioning of the transformer,” he told Fernandez.
This will entail taking some classrooms off the grid in order to reduce the load of the transformer, the senator said.
According to Mendiola, since they learned that the NMC is not conducting classes during the time that Tinian High School is in session, they are seeking Fernandez’s permission to temporarily use the facility for high school instruction.
NMC, early this year, suspended its academic programs at its Rota and Tinian instructional sites based on the recommendation of the accrediting commission.
Mendiola said that the transfer of classes will minimize overloading risks at the public high school.
“There is a strong possibility that we may need to conduct classes on NMC campus for the remainder of the current school year,” Mendiola said.
He added that school and other parties are willing to shoulder “responsibilities” and comply with NMC’s requirements.
