Guam News - Guam News

READ the release from Adelup in FULL below:

With Some Amendments, School Financing Law Will Allow Focus to Shift to Learning; Acting Governor signs Bill No. 437; amendments needed before implementation can start

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 18, 2012

Acting Governor Ray Tenorio signed the legislation that provides the authority for financing solutions for public school repairs, the purchase of school buses, and other education matters. He signed the bill with reservations, informing senators that separate legislation is needed to make technical amendments and to be clear that the repayment source for financing must come from the existing appropriation level of the Department of Education.

“We can’t implement many of these solutions without those amendments first,” Acting Governor Tenorio said. “But we’re very hopeful that the senators will act quickly to make these amendments. We worked very close with both Democrat and Republican senators  to get to where we are now. The simple amendments we are proffering shouldn’t be a problem.”

Governor Eddie Baza Calvo has said repeatedly over the past few weeks that DOE needs to be focused on learning outcomes. Providing real solutions to DOE’s operational and facilities issues supports this shift in focus.

The new law, which was Bill No. 437 that was authored by Sens. Guthertz, Yamashita, and Respicio, authorized the financing of repairs and renovations to public schools. It also appropriated the funding for a long-awaited DOE master plan. This amendment to the bill was made by Sen. Yamashita.

"This new law represents a bi-partisan victory for all our Guam families with school age children,” Sen. Guthertz said. “Let’s face facts. Neglect and failure to find solutions over the years have made the condition of our schools a community embarrassment and we need the help of everyone with a stake in the outcome, meaning all of us. Fixing this situation was my intent from the beginning and I was delighted that such a wide range of parties joined in to make my original proposal so much better and more likely to get our schools repaired soon."

“I can’t tell you how happy I am, as a public school parent, that this government was able to work together to provide unprecedented solutions to DOE’s operational problems,” Sen. Yamashita said. “I think we all showed our bipartisan commitment to the students and the teachers who endure unfit learning environments. We took a stand together and said, ‘enough is enough,’ we’re going to make our promises to the people of Guam come true.”

The administration will be able to start developing these financing solutions once the legislature makes the amendments needed. These amendments are being proposed in detail in the transmittal letter the acting Governor will send to the legislature either today or tomorrow.

“All of us, Democrat and Republican, believe that if we’re going to let DOE concentrate on learning, then we have to provide the teachers and students the facilities to teach and learn,” acting Governor Tenorio said.