HOMELESS: Public schools's special education division; CHamoru Language Division
By Johnnie Rosario
(Tumon, Guam) When Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero gave away a government facility to a flailing company her friend runs, she also displaced the Department of Education’s special education division and the CHamoru Language Commission.
In a letter to Ms. Leon Guerrero today, DOE superintendent Jon Fernandez told the governor “GDOE will move our special education offices out of Building E by the end of the school year.”
For now, this office which serves the island’s most at-risk youth population, is facing homelessness. The governor kicked them out without ever working with anyone to find the division a suitable office location.
The governor’s decision to enter into a lease for Tiyan’s Building E, which houses the special education division and the language commission’s Language Revitalization Center, directly with the Guahan Academy Charter School was made abruptly and without consulting Mr. Fernandez or the Board of Education.
Ms. Leon Guerrero sent a condescending letter to Mr. Fernandez after she released the letter to the media informing him of her decision. She never even mentioned the language commission.
GACS is run by Ms. Leon Guerrero’s close friend and ousted former Speaker Judi Won Pat, Ed.D.
Yesterday, Kandit learned that disgraced former George Washington High School principal Linda Hernandez Avila was hired by Dr. Won Pat to be the Dean of Secondary Students at GACS. Ms. Avila was removed from her post as GW principal in the wake of allegations against ROTC teacher Manjo Quintanilla, who has been accused of raping female students at the school. Ms. Avila was implicated in the coverup.
GACS has been the subject of looming operational ruin for years. The charter school is the only one using government facilities to operate, even after receiving substantial government subsidies year after year. The school, which is the oldest charter school in Guam, also has failed to secure accreditation.
So much for the governor’s commitment to public education or the CHamoru language.