Simon Sanchez reconstruction signed into law
By Thomas Benavente Pacific Daily News
On June 30, the legislature passed eight bills after numerous discussions and floor amendments since the session started on June 27. Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero has already quickly passed one of those bills, which is Bill 94-37. Bill 94-37, authored by Sen. Roy Quinata, was introduced to enact new standards relative to the Ma Kahåt Act of 2013. The governor has now signed it into law as Public Law 37-22.
Gov. Leon Guerrero reflected that this “is a critical step toward finally building the new Simon Sanchez High School” due to a simplified procurement process for the Guam Department of Education and technical expertise from the Department of Public Works.
“Bill 94-37 contemplates that the solicitation for the financing, construction and all the related services for the new Simon Sanchez High School will be issued within 90 days of the bill’s signing,” added Gov. Leon Guerrero. “I am confident that we have the capacity to proceed without further delay. I would like to thank Sen. Roy Quinata for his leadership on this issue, who is himself a proud graduate of Simon Sanchez High School and whose accomplishments are a testament to the power of public school education.”
“The wait for the construction of a new Simon Sanchez High School is coming to an end and our future Sharks can look forward to a new home in a modern facility that will provide them with the resources they need to prepare them for their bright futures,” added the governor.
According to Quinata’s office, Simon Sanchez is one of Guam’s oldest schools, which has served thousands of students since its conversion to a high school in 1981. The school has gone without any major renovation or upgrade since then, which made it one of Guam’s oldest learning facilities.
Quinata’s office also noted that the law will be providing much needed repairs to existing buildings and infrastructure which have suffered from years of neglect due to limited funding resources. With these improvements in place, SSHS can continue its mission of providing quality education for generations to come.
Sen. Chris Barnett, Chairman of the legislative committee on education, public safety and the arts noted that this is long overdue for the Simon Sanchez Sharks.
“I’m grateful the 37th Guam legislature finally brought a solution to this longstanding issue. There were real concerns about the cost of the project raised on the session floor,” stated Barnett. “While we celebrate today, we should be mindful and vigilant going forward, making sure we keep an eye on the cost and the value for the Sharks and for our taxpayers.”
The signing of the law comes at a crucial time.
The former acting superintendent of GDOE, Dr. Judith Won Pat, noted in a legislative oversight hearing on June 27 that the current SSHS campus is now closed until further notice.
The bill passed in the legislature with 14 senators voicing their approval while Speaker Terlaje was the only senator to object to the approval of the bill due to the cost of the project.
The bill stated an authorized principal amount of financing of $166,365,000, but the initial intended principal amount was only supposed to be $85,000,000. Over 30 years, this will rise to 480 million dollars spent through financing.
In contrast, Tiyan High School was offered to be financed at 125 million dollars and John F. Kennedy High School at 157 million dollars.
This shows how advanced the new campus plan is for SSHS, which includes an auditorium, a gymnasium and a JROTC building that is bigger than the cafeteria, according to Terlaje.