American Rescue Plan funds front and center at Education Department oversight hearing

A crucial oversight hearing with the Guam Department of Education underway Wednesday, a direct response as Education Oversight Chair, Senator Vince Borja, said we are nearing a “$150 million question.”

“This is me sounding the alarm, planning for the worst, and making sure that we’re all on the same page, working from the same battle plan, and aligned on the same mission,” said Borja.

The hearing comes on the heels of a swift shift in federal policy, the abrupt termination of GDOE’s liquidation period for millions in American Rescue Plan funds.

Money that was critical to initiatives like the ongoing 12-school refurbishment project.

Franklin Cooper-Nurse laid out the impact in stark terms.

“What they did was effectively rescind their prior approval, making us in good faith obligate those funds which are no longer at risk of being available. So that’s the real risk that this department is facing, and that risk totals about 180 million dollars in ARP,” said Cooper-Nurse.

Now, vendors, including CoreTech International, the main contractor for the refurbishment project, have been ordered to begin a 45-day work pause starting Friday, a necessary measure to contain costs.

But halting construction mid-project isn’t a simple switch, as GDOE capital Improvement Coordinator Nikolas Cruz explained, “At George Washington High School, they’re currently doing exterior door replacements, and what do you want them to do? You want them to pause on Friday, but I have 10-15 doors that need to be hung up. At Agueda Johnston Middle School, we were preparing for restroom renovations—just the other day, they started disassembling toilets and urinals.”

“After our conversation with CoreTech, they are going to gear up to try and meet that deadline; however, due to how large the project is, it’s going to take them some time to come to a stop where the 12 sites are safe for the students to use,” said Cruz.

Cruz added even winding down operations comes at a cost, from demobilizing materials to securing equipment. And if funding is restored, remobilizing will take more time, and more money.

The refurbishment at F.B. Leon Guerrero Middle School is also in limbo. To open by January 2026, over $16 million must be shifted from federal to local funds, while GDOE still awaits a $51 million reimbursement to avoid asking for that local support.

In the meantime, GDOE confirms it has already submitted its appeal documents to the U.S. Department of Education for review.