Senators Clash Over $1.7M Fund Transfer for Education Department: Francis Cites Bureaucracy, Frett-Gregory Demands Scrutiny
In a heated debate during Wednesday's meeting of the Senate Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance, lawmakers clashed over a $1.7 million fund transfer request from the Department of Education. Senators Novelle Francis and Donna Frett-Gregory were particularly at odds, articulating divergent viewpoints on the department’s recurring fund transfer appeals for settling longstanding vendor debts.
2023-09-07 17:06:34 - VI News Staff
Education Deputy Commissioner Kimo Smith provided clarification to Senator Francis that the $1.7 million would enable the department to clear their outstanding debt to vendors, some debts being nearly a decade old. Smith also confirmed to Senator Samuel Carrion that the department aims to transition into a regular 30-day payment cycle for future obligations.
However, Committee Chair Senator Donna Frett-Gregory voiced her concerns about the Department of Education's repetitive funding requests for the same purpose. She questioned why the department struggled year-on-year with processing payments, pointing to similar fund transfer requests of about $3 million in previous years. Smith responded that prior requests had gone unanswered due to lack of funding, but he remained optimistic that settling these long-standing debts would normalize future payment cycles.
Frett-Gregory was not satisfied with Smith's explanation and insisted on an external review. She tasked the Office of Management and Budget Director Jenifer O’Neal with enlisting the Department of Property and Procurement to evaluate the payment claims from vendors, stressing that claims must be accompanied by evidence of completed work. “We ain’t trying to participate in no bobol in here, you know,” she added.