by Sabrina Salas Matanane

Guam - During her weekly address Speaker Judi Won Pat spoke of her many accomplishments as the chair of the Committee on Education. Citing for example laws she introduced that rebuilt JFK and expanded Okkodu High School to accommodate the growing population in northern Guam, and public law to rehabilitate Simon Sanchez High School. The speaker also discussed the governor's $4.5 million appropriation in the FY15 budget for the pre-school initiative. You may recall Adelup has accused the legislature of stalling on legislation to implement public pre-school for next school year to which Won Pat said she was concerned about the lack of funding. In her address today won pat cited testimony during the public hearing on Bill 274 held on may 1st from DOE deputy superintendent of curriculum and instructional improvement Joseph Sanchez who testified that DOE would need $9 million cumulative over the next five years and that in FY15 DOE would need only one million for the initial implementation of public -pres school.

According to Sanchez's testimony the need for the first year is far less, and the greater concern is how will the program be funded in the years that follow? We need to be sure that we can sustain the pre-school program in the long-term.

Won Pat says she has since requested a mark up of the bill with the sponsor of the bill Senator Aline Yamashita and committee chair on appropriations Senator Ben Pangelinan.