Unused government facility given back to community
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 7, 2011
The Governor turned the former F.Q. Sanchez Elementary School over to the people of Umatac this morning. The school is set to be utilized by the people of Umatac as part of a Memorandum of Agreement between the mayor’s office and the Office of the Governor. The MOA is based upon a year-to-year agreement only and is subject to GDOE’s need for a school should student enrollment in Umatac increase in the near future.
“This is a product of the community coming together and turning what were sour lemons into lemonade,” Governor Calvo said. “I’m happy for the people of Umatac and the entire South, and I hope the legislature will work with them to ensure they make the best use of F.Q. Sanchez.”
The school, which was closed by the Guam Education Board in August, 2011, has been left unused since students from Umatac were transferred to Merizo Martyrs Elementary School at the beginning of the school year.
“This is the promise of a new beginning for F.Q. Sanchez Elementary School,” Governor Eddie Baza Calvo said at the ceremony this morning. “Now, the people of Umatac have a facility they can use and build upon for their children and for their community.”
Through an agreement reach by the Office of the Governor, the Department of Parks and Recreation, and DOE and signed off by the Attorney General, the facility has been cleared for use by the Umatac Mayor’s Office. Chief Education Advisor Vince Leon Guerrero explains that the decision to transfer authority of the school to the Umatac community is similar to that of the unused village libraries.
“Like the village libraries, F.Q. Sanchez is an unused government facility. The idea behind allowing the mayor’s offices to use these facilities is that they will be responsible for maintaining these buildings and putting them to good use for the community,” Leon Guerrero said. “It’s important that we not let government facilities fall into disrepair and it’s even more important for us to use every government asset to help serve the people.”
An official ceremony was held this morning to sign the MOA and turn over the keys to Umatac Mayor Dean Sanchez.
Contact Troy Torres at 475-9304 or 486-8887 for more information.
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