Senators say Klitzkie's Bill
1 needs revision prior to further consideration
by Sabrina Salas Matanane, KUAM News
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Senator Bob Klitzkie (R), now in his second-term in the Guam Legislature,
is the author of Bill 1, The Every Child Is Entitled to An Adequate Education
Act. And today on Session Floor lawmakers began debate on the legislation,
and it appears like the bill will be undergoing some revision.
Bill 1 has been around for two years, but today it was at the forefront
of discussion. The legislation sets standards for what defines an adequate
public education and also establishes a mechanism by which students can
take legal action against the Government of Guam if it fails to fulfill
the mandates set forth in the Act.
According to Senator Klitzkie, the proposed legislation forces the entire
government to ensure that education is a priority and holds the government
accountable. The policymaker explained, "If this bill becomes law
there will be accountability because everyday 30,000 students, inspectors
will go to school, will make sure they have textbooks, toilets flush;
and those 30,000 inspectors will be buttressed by their parents, and for
once if our school system if its not providing an adequate education,
parents would have some recourse instead of saying, 'I guess there's nothing
I can do', because now a parent really would be able to do something."
While lawmakers seemed to support the intent of the legislation, others
senators said this same level of accountability needs to be extended to
the Legislature. Introducing an amendment requiring an additional section,
Senator B.J. Cruz (D) announced, "I don't think we can pass this
legislation without having the Legislature's hands tied or told that we
have to do, because we have to appropriate the money we can't tell the
Board of Education they're going to be liable if we don't give them adequate
amount of money."
Other amendments that were introduced on the floor included one by Senator
Rory Respicio (D) that would dedicate a portion of the proceeds from the
sale of GTA to go toward education.
Senator Lou Leon Guerrero (D) also introduced an amendment to a prior
amendment that she had introduced on the floor earlier; the new amendment
in summary would measure the quality of education being provided to students.
That amendment, however, failed.
Bill 1 is the first in a series of controversial bills that are scheduled
to be debated on the floor during the current legislative session.
KUAM's Clynt Ridgell contributed to this report
Copyright © 2000-2005 by Pacific Telestations, Inc.
|
