BOARD of Education Chairman Andrew L. Orsini thanked U.S. Congressman Gregorio C. Kilili Sablan for helping the Public School System secure a $160 million grant under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 signed recently by President Joe Biden.
Orsini said the U.S. Department of Education has a 30-day timeline to award the funds to PSS, adding that “this is great news for PSS and provides assurance to classroom teachers, their students and their parents that the federal government has answered our prayers and has come to our rescue.”
Orsini noted that “this is the third time this year that Congressman Kilili has answered our request for additional funding for the education of our students and salary funds needed for our teaching and support staff.”
Commissioner of Education Dr. Alfred B. Ada said this is the third education stabilization grant that the congressman has helped secure for PSS.
The first was the $23.3 million in Education Stabilization Funds that PSS received in May of last year while the second was the $61 million received in January this year.
Ada said these federal funds guarantee that all PSS teachers and support staff will not experience a single payless payday.
“On behalf of all educators, I want to congratulate Congressman Sablan for his tireless efforts in securing much needed federal funds to fill a huge hole in the local budget allocation for PSS,” Commissioner Ada said.
PSS Federal Programs Officer Tim Thornburgh noted that the federal funds “will not only pay for salaries but can also be used to pay for the sanitation supplies needed at our schools to clean every classroom every school day.”
He said the funds can likewise pay for HVAC services for school air-conditioning units, laptops, iPads, MiFis, mental health services, and “a whole range of education services that directly benefit student learning and classroom teaching.”
Congressman Sablan’s work as chairman of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Early Education and K-12 Education resulted in more funding for public and private schools, including the CNMI’s, Thornburgh said.
From left, Public School System Federal Programs Officer Tim Thornburgh, U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, Board of Education Chairman Andrew L. Orsini and Commissioner of Education Dr. Alfred B. Ada pose for a photo following a meeting at Kilili’s district office on Feb. 23, 2021.
PSS photo