With students set to return to class in just a few weeks, the Guam Department of Education is working hard to make sure campuses are safe, clean, and ready. But tight budgets are limiting what can get done, even as unexpected repairs pop up.

With the first day of school fast approaching, GDOE maintenance crews are racing to get ahead of a long list of repairs and inspections. But superintendent Dr. Erik Swanson during a press conference held last week, says limited funding is forcing the department to scale back its summer fix-it plans.

"We have funds available, but not at the level that we would like to be able to do all of the work we want to do now," he shared.

40 schools remain active under GDOE, while Chief Brodie and Lyndon B. Johnson Elementary Schools have officially been shut down or decommissioned.

"Right now, there's three different kinds of maintenance going on -reinspecting already certified schools, performing minor repairs that require skilled labor, and then we have another team that is working right now, we have emergency plumbing repairs at Finegayan Elementary School. So that's all underway," he said.

Swanson says the financial squeeze comes in part because local dollars are now covering projects originally planned under federal pandemic relief funding. And unlike last year—when the governor’s School Opening Readiness Team had to help get campuses ready—Swanson says extra outside help probably won’t be needed this time.

However, he said, "I'll be more than happy for folks who want to help but not bill us for it."

 With the clock ticking, every hand could help to make sure schools are ready for opening day.