Guam Department of Education faces $47M budget shortfall, eyes critical spending cuts

As the Guam Department of Education faces a $47 million budget shortfall, they’re looking at all the ways to work within their means, targeting facility operations first to trim spending.  

“Our power bill alone is in the neighborhood of 10 million dollars a year,” said GDOE Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Swanson.

It’s a staggering number, with even one vacant school raking in a hefty utility bill. 

“Chief Brodie, just in 11 months, the utility bill  was $340,000, and that’s without anybody using the campuses since May,” said Swanson. 

The discussion turned to right-sizing schools amid a shrunken student population. 

“The board still has to approve the closure of schools, and we’re not going to do any closures until the superintendent and his staff conduct the assessments and team town meetings with stakeholders for every school that is being looked at for decommissioning,” said Guam Education Board Vice-President Angel Sablan.  

Sablan clarified that no school closures have been authorized this year, but announcements will come in January 2025.  

The GEB also passed a resolution directing austerity measures for the superintendent in hiring among other things.

Meanwhile, Chief Brodie Elementary School stakeholders are meeting to discuss the fate of students getting back into their home classrooms.

Meantime, Inarajan Middle School will resume in-person learning tomorrow, Oct. 10. 

The Southern School was the last GDOE school to pass health inspections.