(Hagåtña, Guam) – In a letter emailed on Friday, Governor Leon Guerrero responded to Senator Lujan’s request for her to declare a State of Emergency for the Guam Department of Education.
“While it gives me comfort to know that our Governor is also concerned about the state of our schools, I still feel that the overall tone of her letter doesn’t express the same urgency that I and many people on Guam feel,” Lujan voiced.
The Governor’s letter detailed how current procedures provide the necessary avenues for the Guam Department of Education to be able to accomplish the desired results without the need for her to declare a state of emergency. However, Senator Lujan remembered how quickly the Governor was able to act and mobilize people and agencies when she previously declared a public health state of emergency on the Covid-19 Pandemic.
“The current procedures aren’t working. That’s why we’re holding roundtables, public hearings, and discussions to address the obvious issues that aren’t being fixed. When the Governor declares a state of emergency regarding dangers or disasters, she has the authority to suspend normal government procedures to quickly gain control of the situation and to restore order. I believe that with the current state of our GDOE schools, declaring a state of emergency is just what we need to expedite the repairs, bypass the hassles of procurement, and be proactive in providing acceptable educational environments to our students,” Lujan asserted.
The night before, the 37th Guam Legislature held a public hearing for Bill No. 29-37(COR), which proposes amending the Guam Administrative Rules and Regulations to update sanitation regulations to promote health and safety within the GDOE schools.
“At last night’s public hearing on Bill No. 29-37(COR), I made it very clear that the Governor is well aware of the pitiful state of our schools. I asked the Governor to declare a state of emergency at GDOE because the situation has been deteriorating in front of our very eyes. We should be acting with urgency to immediately improve the situation. The status quo at GDOE is unacceptable. We need safe, clean schools. This isn’t something that should be debated. It is our basic obligation as a governing body. We need executive leadership at GDOE and we need it now. The people of Guam deserve the government’s full attention and resources marshaled to fix things now.” Lujan said.
In the Governor’s letter, statutory hurdles were liable for months, if not years of inaction.
“If government efforts for the safety of our children are stopped because of procurement, even in emergency situations, then we need to re-evaluate and redo the procurement system. The education and safety of our children need to be prioritized, and we need to prioritize them now.” Lujan voiced. But the returning Senator did acknowledge that, with the current statutes in place, other options to address the issues may have to be considered. “I appreciate the Governor’s response, and instead of splitting hairs, I’m going to request Senator Barnett, the Chairperson of the legislative Committee on Education, to hold an oversight hearing with key members of Adelup staff, along with the senior management of GDOE, directors of DPHSS, and the Director of DPW to ensure that GDOE receives the resources it needs. The Governor has significant power and lots of latitude to move around resources quickly. Just last year, she acted unilaterally to give teachers at GDOE pay raises, which she insisted she has the power to do so. My goal is to immediately address the urgent problems and the terrible conditions that Guam students are subjected to. While I think the Governor might still need to declare a state of emergency, the most important thing is that we get all the right people in the room together and we move united as a team to fix the problems immediately. The status quo is not acceptable.” Senator Lujan concluded.
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030923_Sen-Lujan-Re-Response-to-letter-dated-Mar-7-2023-State-of-Emergency