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Gov Lemanu moves responsibility for school maintenance back to DOE

Gov. Lemanu Peleti Palepoi Sialega Mauga
fili@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Gov. Lemanu Peleti Palepoi Sialega Mauga has rescinded another directive issued by his predecessor. This time it was transferring back to the local Department of Education (ASDOE) the public schools’ maintenance division, which has been a part of the Public Works Department (DPW) since the start of the Lolo Administration in 2013.

Through a Jan. 28th memorandum, released this week by the Governor’s Office, Lemanu directed the transfer of the school maintenance division back to ASDOE. The memo was addressed to the directors of Human Resources, ASDOE and DPW.

“During this process, it is important that you work together to make sure that the schools of American Samoa are maintained and the relevant employees are transferred as needed,” Lemanu wrote.

Some lawmakers over the last seven years have complained about the poor condition of several schools under DPW and had requested the previous administration to transfer school maintenance division back to ASDOE.

Samoa News reported in November 2013 that then-Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga transferred all public school maintenance functions and staff to the DPW, where maintenance duties were divided into six districts, with the objective of ensuring expedited responses when requests were received. There were also district managers, each assigned a government vehicle.

Also transferred to DPW were DOE funds earmarked for maintenance.

Lolo took the action after an inspection by the Health Department during the summer of 2013 found several school facilities in deplorable conditions, which resulted in a two-week delay in the start of the school year 2013- 2014 for public schools on Tutuila.

Transferring maintenance to DPW was to free up ASDOE “to strictly focus its total attention on the business of educating the children of American Samoa,” Lolo wrote in his September 30, 2013 dated letter to the US Interior Department, explaining the move.