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Guam Education Policy Board Member Anita Manibusan's Claim That She Was 'Shocked' By Consultants' Audit Findings Is Ridiculous Given Our Public Schools' Persistent Maintenance Problems, Hazardous Conditions, Substandard Learning, And Bloated Payrolls
[Guam] - No one who lives on Guam could be shocked after reading private auditor Evergreen Solutions' recent report on the Guam Public School System. The conclusion reached during this thorough, third-party investigation is that GPSS struggles with implementing even the most fundamental management principles.
Guam News Factor recently headlined that the Guam Education Policy Board "Still Doesn't Get It" and that members have defended their actions against audit findings by choosing to protect school employees over student learning.
In this report we support our recent headlines by analyzing media reports about the board's resistance to changes not only recommended by Evergreen but supported by the previous admonishments of Public Auditor Doris Brooks. We will also examine statements made by policy board member Anita Manibusan that are indicative of the board's resistance to improvements recommended by professionals.
Evergreen's general assessment of the school system brings to mind images of a ship without a rudder:
"GPSS is currently characterized by a district culture which is not distinguished by accountability, representative decision making, systematic communications or collaboration...there is no accountability system that ensures that GPSS goals and priorities are implemented at each level of the school system." (See Pacific Daily News, April 6th edition.)
Of the school system's maintenance predicament the audit reports "irreparable dysfunctions in every respect of maintenance."
Corroborating that well-known culture of dysfunction at GPSS is an excerpt from the April 6th PDN:
"'Without punishment, employees discover that there are clearly no consequences when they fail,' the report stated. For example: If the school system provides training for employees, no action is taken against the people who don't show up. And sometimes the training never happens at all."
In this past Tuesday's PDN (April 14), Public Auditor Brooks herself said, "many of the recommendations made by her audits over the last few years were 'validated' by Evergreen's draft results."
As our kids' test scores continue to rank among the lowest in the nation, our public auditor says the School System is wasting money and has too many employees. Now, an independent audit conducted by a private auditor from Florida tells us the same thing. No surprise to anyone -- right? Wrong!
Despite years of constant media coverage and public outcry over the failures of the GPSS and the GEPB, Guam Education Policy Board Member Anita A. Manibusan said in an April 13th Pacific Daily News article that she was "shocked" when she read the audit results.
If that's true, then surely Ms. Manibusan is just about the only person on Guam who was shocked.
Let's examine whether she should have been so shocked.
Brett Kelman, who has been covering the audit in the PDN, reported on April 13th that:
"Evergreen's survey results showed that teachers, principals and administrators have very little faith in the school board -- especially when compared to other school districts.
Manibusan said she disagreed. 'I think there is something wrong there,' she said. 'I find it hard to believe that that is how they feel when the board works so very hard.'
Manibusan said she felt the school system employees who told Evergreen that the board has micromanaged in the past had misled the auditors. Manibusan said she has never micromanaged and she has never seen her colleagues do it, either."
Maybe Manibusan needs to check her memory. A September 25, 2008 KUAM story states in part:
"Things were quite heated at Wednesday night's meeting of the Guam Education Policy Board in Yigo. Board member Anita Manibusan expressed her strong concern after hearing that superintendent Dr. Nerissa Bretania-Shafer was moving some school aides from one middle school down south to Jose Rios Middle School to fill the shortage there.
'Those kids down south have the same right as those kids at [Jose] Rios and all the other schools,' she explained. Addressing Bretania-Shafer, she added, 'All of a sudden, miraculously by the stroke of whatever, Rios has school aides. That's my concern, Madame Superintendent.'"
According to the report, it is clear that Manibusan was using a GEPB meeting to go after the Superintedent for moving a few school aides from one school to another - clearly a function of the GPSS, not the GEPB. Perhaps that one example will help Manibusan and any other board member who doubts the board is micromanaging to understand why the audit concluded that it is indeed doing so.
Speaking of school aides, on April 6th, PDN reported that the audit called for elimination of "more than 600 school aide positions".
One GEPB member knows better. Guess who? In the April 14th PDN, we read:
"Board Member Anita Manibusan said she would oppose the removal of any school aides, calling them the 'backbone' of the school system. She questioned how the school system would deal with a teacher shortage without aides.'When I look at the recommendations of this audit, I feel for these school aides. They are the jack-of-all-trades for GPSS. They are thrown all over the place,' Manibusan said."
The GEPB just doesn't get it. They continue to defend the failed status quo and refuse to make the changes that will help our kids succeed in school.
Shock? Nothing about Evergreen's audit shocks us. The fact that the education board's members will do nothing does not shock us.
The only thing that will shock us is if this obviously out-of-touch member of the GEPB is re-elected to disserve the children in the Guam Public School System.
Keep coming back to GuamNewsFactor.com Next up for review is the GEPB member who tried his best to prevent us from ever seeing the audit results. In fact, if he had his way, you'd have to submit a Freedom Of Information Act request to see the results of the taxpayer-supported audit.
Read the April 6, 2009 Pacific Daily News story, "Audit: GPSS promotes failure: Flaws persist because none are held accountable".
Read the April 13, 2009 Pacific Daily News story, "Board to receive audit report: Results advise school board to impose limitations".
Listen to the April 13, 2009 K57 podcast, "Anita Manibusan with Ray Gibson".
Read the April 14, 2009 Pacific Daily News story, "Recio: 'Don't ignore the problem'".
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