Education Committee Oversight Chair Senator Nerissa Underwood did not just want to hear updates while the Guam Department of Education meets with U.S. DOE officials about getting the department off of high-risk grantee status. She went on the trip to D.C. with them.
Education Committee Oversight Chair Senator Nerissa Underwood did not just want to hear updates while the Guam Department of Education meets with U.S. DOE officials about getting the department off of high-risk grantee status. She went on the trip to D.C. with them.
She says, “I wanted to know really what’s our timeline here to get them off of high risk status also what needs to happen?”
GDOE has been placed on high-risk for more than a decade and because of this special condition, the department requires a third party fiduciary agent to look over its financial situation, which costs Guam about $3 million dollars a year in local funds. This past Friday, Underwood along with GDOE officials met with the US DOE high-risk management team.
She says, “I want to know to know at what point are we going to be able to invest that $3 million in our local resources and actually stop the contract with that third party and the meeting with US DOE, they could not give me a timeline for us to get off high risk.”
Senator Nerissa Underwood tells PNC that U.S. DOE sees progress being made but their primary concern with Guam DOE is accountability. She explains, “I did ask, will this take another five years? They said no but a lot will be depended on the extent to which we can demonstrate that we are at a sustainable level for meeting the high standards of accountability.”
Underwood says she asked US DOE for guidelines to ensure that GDOE meets all the requirements. She says if GDOE continues to improve their financial management system, she believes it would take a couple more years for the department to be ready for another evaluation. Underwood says this summer, US DOE officials will be visiting Guam.
She says, “At that point, US DOE officials will provide the legislature, the governor, and also the people of Guam a more detailed progress of where we’re at and what else we have to address but I congratulate the superintendent for the efforts that were already made and I believe they’re on the right path for developing the transition plan and implementing that transition plan.”
She encourages DOE and its support staff to keep up the good work. Underwood says, “They need to be supported and we need to ensure there’s consistency and maintain the level of professional and effort to improve the system. This is a long process. DOE did not get placed in high-risk status overnight, it happened over a period of ten or 15 years. It will take a little bit longer that we had anticipated but progress has been made, I have seen it.”
