NMTech shortens staff work hours due to funding delays

The Northern Marianas Technical Institute announced that staff work hours will be cut to 64 hours per pay period beginning July 6 due to funding delays, according to CEO Jodina Attao.

Speaking during the technical school's board meeting on June 23, Attao reported a tight financial situation, with total cash in banks currently sitting at $232,000 and a net cash position of just $151,000 after accounting for pending vendor and contractor payments.

Delays in receiving funds—including tuition payments from the Department of Labor's Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act program—that were exacerbated by Super Typhoon Sinlaku triggered the reduction in work hours.

“Our total cash in banks is $232,000, [and] that is really grounds for austerity measures,” Attao informed the board. “I will be reducing hours for staff down to 64 just because we have something that's coming in, but we also have vendor payments that need to be made.”

Under the plan, the staff-hour reduction from 72 hours per pay period to 64 hours per pay period will be facilitated by shutting down the entire NMTech campus on Fridays.

Management estimates the reduction will save the school between $10,000 and $13,000 per pay period, providing enough breathing room to cover additional payrolls until federal CNMI-Only Transitional Worker funds and other revenue streams stabilize.

Despite the cutbacks, Attao praised the team's dedication.

“Our staff, even though they're on austerity, they are still very committed and work on austerity Fridays at home remotely to ensure that continuity of grants and whatever deadlines need to be met are met.”

During the meeting, Attao also provided the board with a comprehensive update on the school's ongoing recovery from Sinlaku, the construction progress of its new campus, and the immediate enactment of financial austerity measures.

While NMTech has made significant headway in cleaning up its Lower Base campus and keeping new construction on track, delayed funding and mounting expenses have forced NMTech to tighten its belt.

According to Attao, Sinlaku covered the Lower Base campus with about 2 inches of mud, destroying drywall and collapsing ceiling tiles.

Initially quoted at $93,000 by a private contractor to handle the cleanup, NMTech leadership instead activated all staff as emergency responders to clean and repair the campus in-house.

The in-house effort cost just over $27,000, largely spent on repair materials, fuel for the generator, and waste tipping fees. Officials noted the intense labor involved but commended the staff's resilience.

While classes are set to resume on Monday, June 29, to finish out the spring semester, the severe storm damage cemented the administration's decision to permanently leave the Lower Base facility once the new campus is ready.

“I don't feel like we should invest any more time and money into this campus, as much as we want to keep it because of the space that's available,” Attao stated. “It has just been too tedious on the staff and financially.”

To save funds, assets originally slated for the Lower Base campus, including a new 165 kV generator and a solar panel installation funded by an Energizing Insular Communities grant, will now be redirected to the new campus in Koblerville.

Meanwhile, Attao provided an update on the ongoing Economic Development Administration-funded construction project. Despite 47 days of weather- and permitting-related delays, construction of NMTech’s new campus in Koblerville continues to move forward rapidly. As of mid-June, the project was 63% complete. A formal extension has been approved by EDA.

“Our contractors have been doing an amazing job even post-typhoon. Not even a week later, they are already back on-site,” she said.

All five main steel components for the new buildings have officially arrived on the island. The administration building has had its wall panels and radiant barriers installed, while roofing is going up on the carpentry facility.

The buildings are heavily reinforced and engineered with steel framing spaced just 16 inches apart to withstand wind speeds of up to 250 miles per hour.

While the initial move-in date was slated for February 2027, the weather-related extensions have pushed the expected campus relocation to April or May of next year.

In a final piece of good news regarding the transition, NMTech announced it has been awarded $300,000 by the U.S. House Appropriations Committee—championed by the office of Delegate Kimberlyn King-Hinds—specifically for outfitting the new campus with furniture and equipment.