"My heart goes out to the people in the Department of Education manning typhoon shelters. It is not their mission, they're not trained for it."
Senator Robert Klitzkie
27th Guam Legislature

Klitzkie: DOE needs to get out of the shelter business

by Rachel Taimanao, KUAM News
Saturday, April 19, 2003

While Supertyphoon Kujira passed by Guam without causing in physical damage, it did cause the cancellation of school for Department of Education students. Seven DOE schools which served as shelters had only a half day of school on Monday, and all schools were closed on Tuesday.

Senator Robert Klitzkie (R) says he thinks DOE needs to get out of the shelter business. “I have to say my heart goes out to the people in the Department of Education manning typhoon shelters. It is not their mission, they're not trained for it…they do a good job not withstanding those facts and they certainly have enough to do without manning typhoon shelters during storms. Their mission is educating the children of Guam. Other parts of the government are better suited to typhoon shelter management,” he told KUAM News.

Senator Klitzkie says he intends to introduce legislation that would mandate other parts of government take over shelter management. He says the Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority is one agency that could be involved in the process.

DOE Interim Superintendent Dr. Nerissa Bretania-Shafer has told KUAM in the past she favors DOE getting out of the shelter business. She says if the schools weren't being used for shelters students would have missed far fewer days of school this year following Typhoon Chataan and Supertyphoon Pongsona.

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