Public Health on Bill 238: “Sanitary permits are not symbolic documents"

As F.B. Leon Guerrero Middle School undergoes continued construction, can the Yigo campus pass Public Health inspection under a zero-deficiency standard?  Lawmakers, Public Health, and education officials having this discussion during Wednesday’s public hearing on Bill 238. 

 “Sanitary permits are not symbolic documents, they are certificates of minimum public health compliance" is what Public Health officials had to say in opposition of oversight chair on education, Senator Vince Borja’s Bill 238—a measure seeking to remove FBLG's automatic two-year new applicant requirement, set off by the school’s sanitary permit that expired back in June of 2023 during construction delays. 

“Because that permit has expired, the school is now legally classified as a new applicant as it goes through public health inspection. That classification automatically triggers a new applicant requirement, including a zero-deficiency pre-operational inspection standard," said Borja.

Borja noting FBLG is not a new facility, with prior compliance history—arguing that should the measure not pass, the delay of reopening the Yigo campus will further delay ending double-sessions. Borja also making it clear: the measure does not eliminate Public Health inspection, and will still require violations to be noted and corrected. 

However, Leilani Navarro, environmental public health officer administrator with Public Health’s Division of Environmental Health, read testimony from Public Health director Therese Arriola—who argued against the bill’s proposal to waive the pre-operational inspection, which is designed to verify that a school facility meets the minimum sanitation and safety requirements before students and staff use the facilities. 

Arriola’s testimony also noting FBLG's last inspection was more than 14 years ago, resulting in 4 demerits and an “A” rating, back in 2011. Navarro added, “The Guam Department of Education, or GDOE, made a deliberate decision not to renew the sanitary permit for FBLG when it expired on June 30th, 2023, because the facility would not pass inspection due to planned renovation and construction activities. As a result, the school has not held a valid sanitary permit since then, and has not been included in DEH’s annual inspection of GDOE schools as required by Public Law 37-04.”

Public Health further stating that providing a statutory exemption for one facility sets a dangerous precedent for other health regulated establishments to reasonably seek, potentially undermining the uniform application of public health laws. 

In the meantime, GDOE testifying in support of the measure, but requesting clarifying language in the bill. Student support services administrator Christopher Anderson said, “We are still being inspected, but with the category of a sanitary inspection, which allows us up to 40 demerits, and I’m not saying that we’re trying to get to 40 demerits. But the idea is that we have a greater chance of success in getting the school opened safely under the condition of a sanitary inspection vs. a new applicant, and that’s the ask.”

And with the goal to end Okkodo and FBLG's ongoing double-session, Borja says he will continue to work with Public Health on the bill without compromising health and safety requirements.