Senators seek Section 30 Funds for Schools as Governor proposes GMHA, UOG spending

The excess Section 30 funds total nearly $20 million. While the governor wants to direct the money toward addressing the crisis at the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority and supporting blue economy initiatives at the University of Guam, two senators have introduced separate bills seeking to direct the funds to the Guam Department of Education.

On Monday, Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero called the 38th Guam Legislature into special session beginning Tuesday. That same day, Sen. Sabrina Salas Matanane called for the Legislature to take up Bill 358-38, which would use $19.885 million in excess Section 30 funds to rebuild Simon Sanchez High School.

"It creates a Simon Sanchez High School modernization funds and it locks the $19 million in excess funds to go only for the construction, reconstruction of a new Simon Sanchez High School. It also reduces the amount of money we are going to pay for the construction of this new school by $20 million," Sen. Salas Matanane said in a video posted on her Instagram account Monday.

In the video, Salas Matanane urged fellow senators to support her bill, noting that the request for proposals for construction of the Yigo campus is expected to be released by the end of the month.

"We need to get this bill debated on the floor as soon as possible, so it doesn't cause any further delays. The students, the faculty, the parents have waited long enough for a new Simon Sanchez high school," she said. "Bill 358, finally sends a message, at least for me, that I'm listening, and I'm tired, too. I'm frustrated just as you are."

With Bill 358-38 competing with the governor's bill to direct the same funds toward the hospital, Guam News Network asked Salas Matanane who chairs the legislative Committee on Health and Veterans Affairs, which bill she would support moving forward.

“As Health Committee Chairperson, I’ve consistently fought to give GMH the funding and resources it needs. In fact, as part of this Republican-led Legislature, we’ve advocated for and provided more than $100 million to GMH through appropriations and supplemental funding for operations and much-needed capital improvements. So, you know where my heart is when it comes to our hospital," Salas Matanane said.

Though she understands the need to modernize GMH’s electronic health records system, Salas Matanane said, "at the same time, our students at Simon A. Sanchez High School have been waiting far too long."

Salas Matanane said that while she respects the governor's proposal, she believes both bills need to be carefully considered.

"I think we owe it to the public to look carefully at both and ask: Where is this money most urgently needed right now, and where can it make the biggest difference,” she said.

Senator Vincent Borja the chair of the legislative Committee on Education, Libraries and Public Broadcasting is also seeking the same Section 30 excess funds for the Guam Department of Education to address maintenance needs across public schools.

The special session on the governor's proposal begins at 10 a.m., Tuesday.

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