Guam Department of Education Superintendent Jon Fernandez has welcomed Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero’s education initiatives as announced in her second State of the Island address Monday night.
During her speech, Leon Guerrero highlighted some of the work her administration has done to support public education initiatives.
The governor reiterated her administration’s commitment to safer schools through the dedication of resources to support intercom systems and surveillance cameras for public schools.
She also noted the farm to school partnership between the Guam Economic Development Authority (GEDA) and the Guam Department of Education (GDOE), which has led to local produce being served at Okkodo High School.
“We appreciate the partnership with GEDA and local farmers, and we hope to see more locally grown produce in more of our school cafeterias in the months to come,” Fernandez said in a news release.
In her address, Leon Guerrero also recognized that schools are led by people dedicated to serving the students and families of Guam, announcing the first phase of competitive salary adjustments that will start with teachers and nurses.
“Teachers are professionals that can have one of the greatest impacts on our future generations and our economy,” Fernandez said. “I fully support moving forward immediately with more competitive salaries for our teachers.”
Leon Guerrero has also supported the long-awaited project to rebuild Simon Sanchez High School. The first phase of procurement, which involved surveying the property, was completed last year. The GDOE is now nearing the end of its work to hire an architectural and engineering firm to design the new Yigo campus.
“We thank her for the confidence, funding, and agency support needed to push the Simon Sanchez High School project forward, and we are eager to see a new campus for our Shark family,” Fernandez said. (GDOE press release)
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