Mar 19, 2023

Emergency session tackles GDOE facilities

After sitting with parents and teachers of Guam Department of Education students for hours and hearing their concerns over the aging public schools, health and safety issues, lawmakers have agreed to hold an emergency session to consider legislation that aims to address needed repairs and maintenance projects.

A roundtable hearing between senators and Parent-Teacher Organizations of GDOE on Friday prompted Sen. Chris Barnett, the chair of the Legislature’s education committee, to ask Speaker Therese Terlaje to call an emergency session.

Terlaje, who listened and engaged with parents and teachers during the roundtable hearing, in turn, issued a memo that calls the legislative body into session Monday afternoon, certifying emergency conditions exist to fast-track three bills.

One of the bills that will be addressed is Barnett’s Bill 29-37, which would tackle health and safety issues at GDOE schools, through binding inspections. Simon Sanchez High School, for example, was found to be infested with rats and recently received a “D” grade from inspectors with the Department of Public Health and Social Services, but was not shut down under current law, which gives schools until next year to comply with health and safety standards.

“I am hoping we can move thoroughly and expeditiously to debate and pass these measures. I believe they will set into motion the solutions public school stakeholders have waited decades for. The testimony we heard on Friday during the roundtable was overwhelmingly in support of Bill 29 and the much-needed drastic changes it would make to finally bring our school facilities into compliance with basic health and safety guidelines,” Barnett told The Guam Daily Post ahead of the emergency session.

At the roundtable discussion, similar and identical concerns were shared by stakeholders, who testified about their experience with GDOE having a hard time addressing mounting issues that have piled up over decades at the 41 public schools.

“GDOE originally wanted 20 years to comply with school sanitation rules, and the acting superintendent has asked us for another year, but the people of Guam are tired of excuses and delays. I know this Legislature is moving forward with their blessing,” Barnett said.

Sen. Chris Duenas’s Bill 32-37 is also on the agenda for the emergency session. The bill appropriates $30 million to GDOE for school infrastructure repair and maintenance.

“Thank you, Sen. Chris Barnett, for requesting an emergency session – and to Speaker Therese Terlaje, for including my bill onto the proposed agenda. It is my hope that with my bill, my colleagues and I will be able to appropriate $30 million to (GDOE) for school infrastructure repairs and maintenance,” said Duenas, who looks forward to the discussions next week.

The last bill on the agenda is from Sen. Sabina Perez. Bill 46-37 would help expedite the procurement process for projects paid with American Rescue Plan funds, in the event of protests.

“The emergency session will expedite three key measures that will assist GDOE in addressing facility needs and providing safe learning environments. Bill 46-37 aims to expedite protests, which are an essential part of the procurement process but can lead to lengthy delays and the inability to expend federal funds for urgently needed infrastructure improvements before their expiration,” Perez told the Post.

The emergency session called by the Legislature to act on the three bills follows Sen. Jesse Lujan’s request to the governor for her to declare a state of emergency, which was made 10 days prior to the speaker’s memo.

“(Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero) replied that the power to solve the problems plaguing GDOE rests with the Legislature. I just want the problems fixed and our public schools safe. The status quo is just unacceptable. The children and parents of GDOE deserve so much better. The Legislature, the governor, and the senior management of GDOE need to work together and act with urgency. Enough is enough,” Lujan said.

The emergency session will begin at 2 p.m. Monday.

By: Jolene Toves

Source: The Guam Daily Post