Attao: NMC continues to live within its means

During the June 30 Board of Regents meeting chaired by Janice Tenorio, Northern Marianas College (NMC) leadership delivered a comprehensive update on the institution’s financial health and its aggressive recovery following the devastation of Super Typhoon Sinlaku. The briefing highlighted the college’s proactive disaster response, unexpected enrollment growth, and major infrastructure upgrades.

Despite a mandated 15% reduction in central government appropriations, NMC has successfully absorbed the financial impact through strategic advance planning.

​NMC Chief Financial Officer David Attao assured the board that the college is actively managing its resources to maintain uninterrupted service to the community.

​"The college continues to live within its means, and we try our best to keep our costs low and our operations functioning, so we can service our students and our stakeholders and meet all the obligations we need as a college,” Attao stated.

​This financial stability is running parallel to an encouraging uptick in summer enrollment, which climbed past initial estimates to roughly 170 full-time equivalents. Administration officials attribute this growth to aggressive, post-storm marketing campaigns and robust student outreach designed to reassure the community that classes would continue.

For NMC President Galvin Deleon Guerrero, the immediate priority following the storm was the safety and well-being of the campus community. Human Resources and Student Services teams conducted systematic check-ins with displaced individuals to offer support.

​"We prioritized the wellness checks on employees and students... we established a very solid communication connection, and I think that really sent a clear message that we care about them," Guerrero noted. "So, when it came time for summer to roll in, I think they were ready.”

​Rather than waiting for external assistance, NMC faculty, staff, and students spearheaded the initial campus cleanup. Senior Vice-President Frankie Eliptico presented a detailed 30, 60, and 90-day recovery timeline, noting that the college’s internal organization was so effective that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers highlighted NMC's efforts on social media as a model for proper debris sorting.

​"We got to work the week after the storm; we didn't wait until weeks later until we were told what needed to be done. The team was activated,” Eliptico explained.

Super Typhoon Sinlaku severely damaged the campus and destroyed the fabric modular pods previously used for classrooms. However, with 90% of temporary building repairs already completed to facilitate the ongoing summer session, NMC is now aggressively preparing for the fall semester.

​Eliptico added that through coordination with FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 18 new prefabricated modular classrooms—engineered to withstand 190 mph winds—are slated for completion by September 1.

​As the temporary campus takes shape, NMC is also moving to demolish its heavily damaged gymnasium. Having endured multiple historic severe storms—including Typhoons Soudelor, Yutu, Mangkhut, and Sinlaku—the structure has sustained extensive, irreversible damage and is now officially classified as a safety hazard. Plans for a new facility have already been incorporated into the college's long-term master plan.

​"We wanted to demonstrate to you that we're all in this together, and we have an amazing team here," said President Guerrero. "The Proa Tribe—nothing sinks this Proa. We sail on."

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