SAMOANA HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES TO BEGIN SEPT. 8

While all public schools on Tutuila started the new school year 2014-2015 on Tuesday this week, this was not the case for Samoana High School, where temporary classrooms are being built inside the high school’s gymnasium.

Samoa News was told by parents of students attending Samoana that they were informed of a student assembly held Sept. 2 (Tuesday) for the start of school, but then students were dismissed for the day and told to return next week Monday, Sept. 8.

Responding to Samoa News inquiries, Education Department director Vaitinasa Dr. Salu Hunkin-Finau confirmed that Samoan High School has been rescheduled to open Sept. 8 “due to the incomplete conditions of the temporary classrooms being built in the gym.”

She said the DOE leadership will conduct a final inspection of these facilities today to ensure student safety and sanitation. “Should anything unexpected emerge, we will... alert the media to get the information out to parents and the public,” she said.

Construction for the ten temporary classrooms began several weeks ago utilizing two local contractors after DOE found that one of the school’s old buildings had been damaged by heavy rains in July, when part of the ceiling came down. A new building for the high school is being constructed in the meantime.

Meanwhile, all ECE Centers as well as public schools in Manu’a will begin their new school year next Monday. Delay for start of schools in Manu’a was due to weather and transportation problems over the weekend that stranded teachers and administrators on Tutuila. The MV Sili finally left Tutuila on Wednesday bound for Manu’a.

LOLO ESTABLISHES ORGANIZATION CHART REVIEW COMMITTEE

In a memo dated Sept. 2 to all directors, Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga says that to facilitate a detailed review of the organization charts, with subsequent recommendations to him for final approval, the Organization Chart Review Committee (OCRC) headed by Lt. Gov. Lemanu Peleti Mauga has been officially established.

He informed directors that the scheduling for the review of their agency's respective organization charts will be forthcoming upon determination by Lemanu. Additionally, those agencies who have not provided a copy of their organization chart to the governor’s office should do so as soon as possible, in order to facilitate scheduling.

Besides Lemanu, other OCRC members are: Human Resources director Sonny Thompson; Budget Office director Catherine Saelua; ASG Treasurer Uelinitone Tonumaipe’a; the governor’s executive assistant Iulogologo Joseph Pereira; the lieutenant governor’s executive assistant Solomona Aoelua; the governor’s senior policy on personnel Otomalesau John Ah Sue and the governor’s senior policy advisor Oreta Crichton.

Departments organization charts were among the documents that the Fono Joint Budget Committee asked the administration to provide, however a majority of directors did not provide them, with one saying that the chart had already been submitted to the governor for his approval.

Meanwhile the governor’s office released yesterday Lolo’s memo which officially designates Jerome lerome as the Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) Administrator to oversee the current and overall operations of CIP and Special Programs.

Lolo says lerome will carry and fully administer all the responsibilities, functions, and authorizations set and mandated to the CIP Administrator. (Ierome is already the coordinator for ASG’s High Risk Task Force).

Not mentioned in the memo was that Ierome replaces Tuimavave Taupa’i Laupola, who held the CIP Coordinator post since March of last year. There was also no explanation as to why the change was made.

As previously reported by Samoa News, the governor’s chief of staff Fiu Johnny Saelua — in an Aug. 12 letter — removed Tuimavave from the post and replaced him with Ierome.

DHS HOSTS LOGISTICS CAPABILITY ASSESSMENT TOOL TRAINING

The local Department of Homeland Security (DHS) hosted a two-day training entitled Logistics Capability Assessment Tool (LCAT) at their main office in Tafuna on Wednesday and Thursday.

Other government agencies and departments who were represented at the training included the Dept. of Public Works and the Office of Procurement, as well as officials from the private sector and the American Samoa Red Cross.

The focus of the trainingwas on logistics, resources, and federal assistance during times of natural disasters. American Samoa is the first in the Pacific to undergo this exercise which is being conducted by a representative of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Washington DC, an official from Region IX in Oakland, CA, and a US Army officer who is a defense coordinator for the Dept. of Defense.

Because the territory is a land mass located in such a remote jurisdiction, dependency during times of natural disaster is amongst ourselves and the goal of the training is to find areas that need improvement by determining the strengths and weaknesses as far as logistics is concerned.

“We want to ensure that resources are brought in at the right time,” said one of the facilitators.