Sen. Will Parkinson is pressing lawmakers to act on long-delayed funding to complete the rehabilitation of the historic Francisco Q. Sanchez Elementary School in Humåtak.
Parkinson said he fought to place Bill 40-38 (COR) on the legislative session agenda, which would appropriate an additional $3.5 million to finish the project. The site, built in 1953, is listed on both the Guam Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places.
An earlier law approved $3.5 million in 2022, but rising construction costs led the Guam Preservation Trust to request matching additional funding. Despite bid announcements that same year, permit records in 2025 still showed the project as pending.
Parkinson criticized what he described as years of inaction, noting that a predecessor measure introduced in 2024—and the current bill filed in 2025—have yet to receive a public hearing or committee report.
“What happened to F.Q. Sanchez is the worst possible way to do government,” Parkinson said. “You do not fund half a project, buy materials, let everything sit for years, and then act surprised when the other half gets more expensive.”
He added that the delays have impacted the village of Humåtak, where the project has remained stalled.
“Humåtak was promised that this historic school would be restored… The people of Humåtak and the legacy of F.Q. Sanchez deserve better than another year of excuses,” he said.
Parkinson is urging lawmakers to move the measure forward, calling for immediate action to complete the long-promised restoration.