On Thursday, lawmakers heard testimony from Guam Community College officials backing a bill that would change the composition of the GCC Board of Trustees. 

Is it time to update the makeup of board? GCC officials believe so, and oversight chair on education, Senator Vince Borja’s Bill 251 aims to make that change. The measure would allow the governor to appoint two trustees representing business, industry, and employers’ organizations, while removing the requirement for a labor organization representative—a seat that officials say has remained inactive for years.

“The representation for the original legislation representing organized labor, I will share that for as long as I’ve been at the college, that’s been a very, very difficult seat to fill," explained GCC president Dr. Mary Okada.  Completing her tenure as president, she added that the trustees approached Senator Borja with the proposal—a move aimed at better aligning the board with today’s workforce development needs and expanding representation in that area.

That request also includes a push to move the bill forward, as the process of recruiting and seating a trustee can take time.  Officials say the goal is to avoid further delays in filling the board’s final seventh seat.

The timing is also critical, as the board prepares to make a major decision—selecting Dr. Okada’s replacement. Okada announcing her intent to retire from the role last year, with a bid for lieutenant governor of Guam on the horizon.

“The board of trustees, in their current activities, is really to fill my replacement at the college. And although we have currently four members, out of the seven that are seated, it is in the best interest of the institution if we can maximize the number of the representatives from the board of trustees in doing that selection," she said.

As discussions turned to timelines, Senator Telo Taitague raising concerns about whether the process would comply with the Open Government Law. “So, that was my question–if this were to pass in March, are you going to lose any funding? No, not at all, right? So we can wait and do this correctly by the open government law of five days, instead of asking this body to bypass the five-day rule," she said.

Okada reassuring lawmakers that bypassing the law is not the intent—adding that if the legislature decides to wait, that decision is ultimately up to them.

Meanwhile, Speaker Frank Blas, Jr. summing up the situation best with this clarification said, “The reason why it is now being considered and why this bill has actually has been drafted and is being considered is so that third position–there’s some clarity as to who can actually sit in that position. Am I correct?" Okdad responded saying, “And the nomination that was submitted in September, with this correction, can fill that slot.”