Education leaders urge House to preserve 25% PSS constitutional guarantee amid proposed definition of general revenues

Lawrence Feherin Camacho, the state education chief and commissioner of education for the Commonwealth Public School System, told the House that Article 15, Section 1 of the CNMI Constitution guarantees a stable funding floor and that recent legislative proposals would weaken that promise.

"Article 15 e of our CNMI constitution is not just a budget rule. It is a promise," Camacho said during the public-comment period, arguing that the 25% guarantee must be calculated on general revenues as the Supreme Court interpreted them. He cited the fiscal-year 2025 figures presented by the governor and said, by his calculation, PSS should have received $42,400,000 but the legislature appropriated $31,700,000 — a shortfall he described as "$10,700,000" and as a consequence for teachers and instructional days.

The matter is now the subject of House Legislative Initiative 24-1 and related statutory…