Education Board votes to close Umatac school

by Nick Delgado

Guam - The Guam Education board this morning voted to close F.Q. Sanchez Elementary School. All five appointed members voted to close the school in an effort to prevent any negative budget impacts on the school system. The three elected members voted against the closure, but were outnumbered.

The board argued that keeping the Umatac campus open would result in cutting the positions for the school nurse, librarian and guidance counselor in order to keep spending costs down. However, the board felt those job cuts would negatively impact the students.

The GEB voted to merge the Umatac students with Merizo Elementary, as DOE officials say the school is underutilized.