Senators in a vote of 7-6 have rejected Bill 317-37, which would give the 18 public schools still waiting on a health inspection a waiver to open up for the school year.
Thursday is the first day of class for the Guam Department of Education, and it’s unclear what the fate of students at those 18 schools will be.
School officials have insisted to lawmakers that the waiver in Bill 317 is needed to open up the schools, though some senators, including education chairman Sen. Chris Barnett have remained skeptical over whether a change in Guam law is needed to reopen.
“We will review our options on how we can ensure that the education of our students is not compromised or interrupted,” a statement provided by GDOE Spokesperson Tes Reyes Burrier said.
“We have to solidify our options in the face of opposition. Our goal is always for the safety and well-being of our island students,” the GDOE statement said.
GDOE leadership has asserted that each of the 18 schools is safe and ready to open, though 14 of them failed a self-administered sanitation inspection.
Voting for Bill 317 were Sens. Roy Quinata, Joe San Agustin, Dwayne San Nicolas, Amanda Shelton, Tom Fisher, and Vice Speaker Tina Muña Barnes.
Voting against the measure were Sens. Barnett, Joanne Brown, Jesse Lujan, Sabina Perez, Telo Taitague, Frank Blas jr., and Speaker Therese Terlaje.
Sens. Chris Duenas and Will Parkinson were both absent and excused.
“We’ll see where we go from here,” Sen. San Nicolas, main sponsor of Bill 317, said following the failure.
“I believe with all my soul, this is the right thing to do. Sorry it didn’t pass … I really just did this for the kids,” he told his colleagues.
Throughout debate, San Nicolas stressed that schools have been working hard to keep up with a “unrealistic timeline” to fix longstanding issues at GDOE campuses, and that something had to be done to keep kids in class.
Some amendments were made to the bill to make it more palatable to opponents, but a particularly controversial section allowing schools with failing health grades to open up, anyways, at the discretion of the GDOE superintendent remained when voting time came around.
Speaker Terlaje wanted to strike the section allowing failing schools to open, noting that GDOE Superintendent Swanson told lawmakers on the floor this week that he did not plan to open failing schools.
Terlaje said she did not understand the logic or politics of allowing kids back to schools infested with rats or cockroaches.
“I hope that parents can remember that, that you have senators in here who want to open those schools that are not safe,” she said.
San Nicolas objected, stating that GDOE had supported the language in the bill. He said staff were working to get campuses up to par.
“I believe that everything that is necessary to get schools up and running is in this bill. And it gives the tools necessary for those we’ve entrusted with our children to do the right thing,” San Nicolas said.
Sens. Barnett, Brown, Lujan, Perez, Taitague, Blas, and Speaker Terlaje voted not to allow schools with failing grades to open.
Sens. Quinata, San Agustin, San Nicolas, Shelton, Fisher, and Vice Speaker Barnes voted to keep the language.
Sens. Duenas and Parkinson were absent and excused.
Also failing was an amendment from Barnett to create an ad-hoc task force that would be responsible for observing conditions at the uninspected schools and then reporting any findings to the community.
If lawmakers were going to “throw away” Public Health standards, kids and families at least deserved more transparency, Barnett said.
Terlaje did pass an amendment that would bar uninspected schools from reopening until they provide a written request for an inspection to the Department of Public Health and Social Services.
Terlaje said the amendment was requested by Public Health during a public hearing for Bill 317.
Uninspected schools
Here are the 18 GDOE schools that won’t be inspected by the start of the school year, and their tentative inspection dates:
- Marcial Sablan Elementary School: August 2024
- Juan M. Guerrero Elementary School: August 2024
- Chief Brodie Memorial Elementary School: September 2024
- Ordot-Chalan Pago Elementary School: September 2024
- Upi Elementary School: October 2024
- Machananao Elementary School: October 2024
- P.C. Lujan Elementary School: November 2024
- Okkodo High School: November 2024
- J.Q. San Miguel Elementary School: December 2024
- Capt. H. B. Price Elementary School: December 2024
- Finegayan Elementary School: January 2025
- D.L. Perez Elementary School: January 2025
- V.S.A. Benavente Middle School: February 2025
- Southern High School: February 2025
- Astumbo Middle School: March 2025
- Jose Rios Middle School: March 2025
- Inarajan Middle School: April 2025
- George Washington High School: April 2025
Only JM Guerrero, Chief Brodie, Ordot-Chalan Pago, and Astumbo Middle School gave themselves passing grades on the self-inspection.
F.B. Leon Guerrero Middle School and Simon Sanchez High School, both of which remain closed, were not included in the list.
Charter schools get funding
What did pass Friday night was Bill 324, which will provide $500,000 to fund the new Business and Technology Charter School and the Chief Hurao Academy Charter School for the months of August and September.
Additional money will be appropriated to the schools through the upcoming fiscal year 2025 budget.
Main sponsor Sen. Joe San Agustin also amended the bill to provide another $450,000 to already established charter schools, to support additional students, and $50,000 to the Guam Academy Charter School Council for operations.
(1) comment
they had years to fix the schools, and this year was the deadline and, and and. The story never changes, remember they did the same last year. Nothing better than mold in the classroom, termite damage, cockroaches, and rats. The rats are entertaining as they move from classroom to classroom for students who are bored, they notice them going from one hole in the wall to another
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