The Guam Board of Education on Tuesday approved a four-year employment contract for Acting Superintendent Judith Won Pat at a salary of $210,000 plus benefits, capping a months-long process that required the Attorney General's Office to sign off on public notice requirements before the board could act.
Board Chair Judith Guthertz said the contract, effective Jan. 1, 2026 and running through Dec. 31, 2029, had been a long time coming and thanked Won Pat for her patience throughout the process.
The board also received a sobering financial report revealing that the department failed to spend $21,826,966 in federal grant funds before they expired — money the board's fiscal management committee noted had been flagged more than a year ago under prior management. Among the expired funds were approximately $5.5 million in special education grants, $4.4 million in Education Stabilization Fund II and $3.4 million in American Rescue Plan funding. As a result of the lapses, approximately $500,000 in obligations to TinyEYE, a therapy services provider, must now be covered with local funds.
The board was told the losses predated Won Pat's administration.
In other business, Won Pat confirmed that Simon Sanchez High School will co-locate at Tiyan High School for the upcoming school year, with both schools operating on completely separate schedules, staff and master plans. She emphasized the arrangement is not a merger, with students keeping their uniforms, mascots and school identity.
The board also passed a resolution supporting the Faniyåkan CHamoru language immersion program's continued operation at P.C. Lujan Elementary School and tabled a separate civics education resolution pending reconciliation of its title and content.
The board's next regular meeting is scheduled for May 19.