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Chair of the Education Committee calls on Governor to Take Responsibility for the Failure to Institute Third-Party Fiduciary Since He is in Blame Acceptance Mode
Sept. 17, 2005 – Commenting on the failure of the V.I. Government to hire a third-party fiduciary to manage U.S. Education Department grants for our local Department of Education, Senator Liston Davis, Chair of the Committee on Education, Culture and Youth, said that since the Governor was in the blame acceptance mode, he should also accept responsibility for dropping the ball on this vital issue.
"Significantly, at the May 20, 2005 meeting of the Committee on Education, Culture and Youth, cognizant of the importance of the deadline set by the feds, I specifically inquired of Dr. Noreen Michael, Commissioner of Education, on the status of the publication of the requests for proposals for a third-party fiduciary as mandated by the U.S. Department of Education," explained Senator Liston Davis.
According to Senator Davis, as a result of his inquiry, the Commissioner assured the Committee that everything was on track and that in fact the federal deadline of October 1, 2005 for the implementation of the new procedure would be met.
"Fearing the worse, on July 29, 2005, in a news release, I publicly called on the Commissioner of Education to move expeditiously to publish the request for proposals for a third-party fiduciary, as mandated by the U.S. Education Department, to manage the approximate $33 million in federal grants for fiscal year 2006 and the $23.6 million for fiscal year 2005 which had been held back until the third-party Grant Manager was in place. I also stated that the lack of action by the Department of Education was jeopardizing a total of about $56.6 million in U.S. Education Department funds. Further, I emphasized that since the deadline for the third-party manager to be in place was October 1, time was of the essence and it was shocking to me to note that, as of Friday, July 29, 2005, neither the Commissioner nor her accolades in Government House, had seen fit to publish the necessary request for proposals," cited the Chair of the Education Committee from his July 29, 2005 news release.
The Chair of the Committee on Education, Culture and Youth said that the cumulative failures of the Department of Education had become more disheartening day-by-day.
"This current flap is especially troubling given the move by the U.S. President and the Congress to redirect unused funds to the hurricane ravished areas of the U.S. Mainland. This kind of mismanagement cannot be allowed to continue and as the Governor implied in a recent statement in regard to the deplorable conditions at John H. Woodson Junior High School, the buck for this latest failure of the Department of Education, must stop at his desk. Governor, we want action! And we want it now! Our educational system cannot withstand the loss of $56.6 million dollars!" said Senator Davis, who in conclusion addressed the Chief Executive directly: "Governor Turnbull, perhaps you should take blame for everything going on within the Department of Education."
