SAIPAN – The CNMI Public School System has been submitted for $37.7 million in the governor’s FY27 budget request, an amount that would lock in a 64-hour-per-pay-period austerity work schedule with no furloughs, the State Board of Education was told Wednesday during a special meeting at the Public School System’s Marina Heights offices.
Commissioner of Education Dr. Lawrence F. Camacho told the board that PSS originally requested up to $52 million for FY27, with scenarios that scaled down to roughly $40 million for maintaining the standard 80-hour pay-period schedule. The $37.7 million figure now submitted by the governor to the Legislature represents a 64-hour austerity measure.
The Commonwealth has $101.9 million identified as available for appropriation in FY27, according to Governor’s Communication 24-135 transmitted earlier this month.
The bottom number that allows PSS to keep schools running, with furloughs and reductions in force, is $31 million, Camacho told the board. Anything below that figure would force PSS to begin shutting down schools.
“37.7 at the bottom really means a 64-hour austerity measure for us with no furlough at that point,” Camacho said. “Below that would cause for us to start looking back into what we had experienced last year with the determination for furloughing any of our employees.”
Board members raised concerns that the central government appears headed toward a 20-hour work week to fit the appropriation, and that legislative reductions to the PSS submission could push the figure below $37.7 million.
Member Andrew L. Orsini said the Commonwealth’s compulsory education law, which mandates education for school-age children through the Public School System, may come into conflict with funding levels that prevent PSS from delivering instruction. He urged the board to direct legal counsel to examine whether legislation may need to be amended in the event of further cuts.
“My contention here is that we need to be a little bit submissive of what we’re going to expect,” Orsini said, noting that the April 15 deadline for legislative budget review fell during Super Typhoon Sinlaku and that the storm response has pushed FEMA matching fund obligations onto the central government balance sheet.
Member Antonio Borja asked whether PSS has a contingency plan if the Legislature reduces the appropriation below the submitted level. Camacho said PSS would follow the same playbook as the prior fiscal year, working through right-sizing first by absorbing departures and consolidating positions across schools, and then by furloughs if needed. PSS did not have to furlough employees last year, working up from $31 million to $42 million in appropriations through the fiscal year.
Camacho told the board that collections through April have been stable, but that May, June, July, August and September collection performance will determine whether PSS can carry into FY27 without additional pressure. Current-year appropriations roll out through October, meaning the first two months of the school year would be funded under existing levels regardless of the FY27 appropriation.
PSS is in communication with the U.S. Department of Education and federal partners about potential risk to matching funds for special education, Head Start, AmeriCorps and other federally supported programs if the $31 million floor is not maintained, Camacho said.
The State Board of Education will continue tracking FY27 budget developments through the Legislature.
