Austerity committee formed at DOE

by Nick Delgado

Guam - The Department of Education has formed an austerity committee, tasked with looking at areas where money can be saved. Committee chairperson Lisa Cooper-Nurse says they will prepare an austerity plan that includes an evaluation of all schools and what can be dropped from their daily operations. 

The report will also include the positive and negative impacts as a result of the cost cutting efforts. The plan will be submitted to the Guam Education Policy Board for approval before it makes its way to the Governor's Office. "At this time we are soliciting the input from our division heads and our principals, and from there once we get a list from them then we will put together in a plan," she explained. "So I don't have any concrete or specific details as to what the actions are going to be, and that's why we are having that meeting tomorrow."

Cooper-Nurse says the meeting will be held tomorrow at 1:30pm at the DOE Conference Room. Two years ago the Department of Education's independent consultant, Evergreen Solutions, conducted an audit of the agency. The company provided a plan outlining how DOE can save millions of dollars.

The plan in its entirety has not been implemented to date.