A crowd of students, parents and teachers expressed frustration during Monday’s meeting of the Guam Board of Education, questioning why repairs to Tiyan High School were not made over the summer.
The Tiyan campus, which also houses Simon Sanchez High School students, remains closed since failing a Public Health inspection soon after the school year began.
Superintendent Judith Won Pat reported that after the inspection, officials considered holding classes online, going to double sessions or redrawing school districts.
She said the options were ranked in order, and “redistricting is at the bottom of the list.”
“My goal is to try to get our students back into Tiyan campus,” she said.
Won Pat’s report was interrupted, at times, by outbursts from the crowd. The superintendent tried to calm them.
“If you’re educators, I’m sure you do not appreciate it when your students are going to be speaking out of turn like you are doing right now,” she said. Audience members responded with loud groans and accusations.
Board Chairperson Judith Guthertz asked the crowd to settle down and allow Won Pat to speak.
Criticism came from some board members as well, including Angel Sablan.
“Madam Chair, we got to this point, frankly, because the superintendent wasn’t doing her job,” he said. Sablan also said Won Pat was not forthcoming about plans to combine the two schools into one.
During a March oversight hearing, Won Pat told the legislature that there would be no double sessions this year because students from Simon Sanchez and Tiyan would attend classes on the same campus.
Sablan said Won Pat later told him that she could not lie to the Legislature.
“Well, you couldn't lie to the Guam legislature, but you could lie to this board and not tell us, not tell us that this was your plan,” he said.
The board approved the superintendent’s report, with Guthertz explaining that the superintendent’s goal is to reopen Tiyan and Simon Sanchez as soon as possible.
