CNMI Public School System Budget Town Hall Meeting. Image credit: Marianas Press
The Northern Mariana Islands Public School System (PSS) is set to experience a series of budget cuts due to a predicted lower budget for the 2025-2026 school year.
The new cuts were discussed in a town hall meeting with the Northern Mariana Islands Commissioner of Education, Dr. Lawrence F. Camacho, who emphasized a need for more transparency.
“It is not fair to just hold off and not communicate to the community,” Camacho said. “What’s fair is that we present what we anticipate numbers to be and what it would look like for the school system.”
To cover the costs of ten Head Start centers, 20 schools, 1,300 staff members, over 8,000 students, and hundreds of activities that Camacho mentioned, he explained that they have submitted a budget of $49 million, but have been told that they are likely to receive $31.7 million instead.
“At the end of the day, the folks who are really impacted are the children that we have to ensure we continue to provide the quality education that we’ve been providing,” he stated “We’re going to make it real and we’re going to show you what 31.7 can afford for us because there’s many things that it cannot afford.”
After going over statistics of student numbers and achievement, Camacho moved into discussing the cuts that the PSS will have to make in order to afford the school year.
With the help of Jonathan Aguon, Acting PSS Finance Director, Camacho specified that these include a shorter work week of 64 hours with reduced school instructional days reducing from 180 to 150, deferring maintenance, cutting teacher certification incentives, reducing the school and central office operational budget with staff furloughs, furloughs of substitute and non-“high-qualified” teachers along with counselors and support staff, possible school merges, vice-principal furloughs, and more.
However, it was announced that to even have a 150-day school year, Governor David M. Apatang would have to declare a state of emergency.
“Of course, we are not going to receive the entire $48 million we requested, but we understand the current economic conditions,” Camacho said.
Camacho also clarified that although Aguon called the cuts “savings,” they are not savings. Rather, Camacho refers to them as “hurtings.” He described larger class sizes, less instructional support, and delays in services.
During the meeting, worried teachers, students, parents, and other community members provided suggestions for ideas on how to solve the cuts, such as filing lawsuits. Members also expressed concerns about the future, signaling the impacts that the cuts could have.
As the last person to ask a question, an audience member stressed a final point directed toward Camacho.
“Sometimes there’s nothing you can do, your hands are tied behind your [back], but untangle it and do it for the children,” the audience member said. “Do it for your staff because the community has your back.”
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Ellie Lakatos is a student at Scripps College majoring in English, writing, and rhetoric. Working for three newspapers, she is experienced in journalistic writing and collaboration while also enjoying creative writing such as poetry. In addition, Ellie has written and published other articles on the internet- from short stories to informative pieces- for various publications. Speaking Slovak as her first language, she is accustomed to working hard to improve and grow as a writer. Her motto of “writing an impact” is carried with her within each piece of writing as she strives to ensure that each and every word she chooses, along with its message, helps to build the overarching meaning of her work. Ellie is an At Large Intern Editor at Pasquines.
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