By Pacific Island Times News Staff
Guam senators are holding another emergency session today to deliberate on Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero’s proposed bill that would authorize her to step into the Department of Education and "fix" the public school facilities.
Classes were initially scheduled to begin Aug. 8 but the education agency has postponed the school opening to Aug. 15 pending safety inspections of school facilities.
“While I recognize that the task ahead is immense, it is not insurmountable.
These problems are solvable,” the governor said in her letter to Speaker Therese Terlaje.
"Give me the legal authority to fix it—and then you can have the right to hold me accountable. But one can’t exist without the other. Anything else is an invitation for even more failure and delay," she said.
The Adelup-proposed bill would grant the governor authority over GDOE for the remainder of her term in office.
Leon Guerrero noted that before 1986, the public school system was under the governor’s purview. However, she added, the 1986 amendments to the Organic Act of Guam removed the governor’s responsibility over the education system and authorized the legislature to enact laws to govern public schools.
“As the Senate Report for the 1986 amendment observes, this structure did not preclude the legislature from delegating authority over public schools back to the governor,” Leon Guerrero said.
In a special public address delivered before submitting the proposed bill, the governor said that under the current law, “I cannot manage DOE’s leadership, deploy its personnel, direct its finances, or correct its policy.”
Education officials have acknowledged that Guam public schools are in a state of disrepair such that many of them are not likely to pass health inspections required by law to open for the upcoming school year.
The education board has declared a state of emergency for Guam's public schools.
"While some of these schools suffer from lack of maintenance that may be remedied by a temporary infusion of manpower and resources, others require more serious structural renovation and rehabilitation," the governor said, adding that the lack of accountability and clear solutions has caused "substantial anxiety and uncertainty."
"Unfortunately, GDOE's difficulties are entrenched and persistent. GDOE draws substantial funding from both local and federal governments, but it has been plagued with long-standing staffing, procurement, and administrative challenges that have hindered the agency's efforts to maintain and operate our public schools, resulting in the deterioration of school campuses," she added.
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