Guam Sen. Vincent Borja is proposing to do away with elections for Board of Education members.
Instead of a hybrid board of elected and appointed members, Borja has introduced a bill calling for all members to be appointed.
He said the proposal was the result of town hall meetings, legislative hearings and phone calls and emails from constituents.
Borja said the purpose of the legislation is not to assign blame, but to evaluate whether the current structure is working.
“This is not about pointing fingers,” Borja said in a news release announcing the bill. “It’s about listening to the community and asking whether there are ways to improve the system so that decisions are more stable and the focus stays on improving outcomes for students.”
Currently, six members of the education board are elected by Guam voters and three are appointed by the governor. There are also three non-voting representatives, including a student, someone from the teachers’ union and a mayor.
Bill 286-38 would change the composition of the board to include seven voting members – four appointed by the governor, two appointed by the speaker of the legislature and a youth representative selected by other board members.
The governor’s appointees would include someone in an upper-level managerial role in private business, a parent of a student, a retired teacher or administrator and a member of the general public. They would serve staggered two-year terms.
There are no specific requirements for the two members appointed by the speaker. They would require no approval from the governor or legislature and could be removed by the speaker at any time.
The youth member would be a graduate of Guam public schools and between the ages of 18 and 25. The youth member would serve a one-year term.
“Our young people have recently lived through the system we are trying to improve,” Borja said. “Their perspective matters, and giving them a seat at the table helps ensure that decisions reflect the experiences of students.”
The proposed board would also have four non-voting members, including the legislative oversight chair for education, a mayor, a teachers’ union representative and a student.