Northern Marianas College may now get a loan for its campus renovation plans.

The governor signed House Bill 15-222 on Thursday immediately after his return from a Japan trip.

Now Public Law 15-58, the measure grants NMC legislative authorization to enter into a commercial loan agreement for $250,000 and to secure the loan with its cash deposits.

The only condition is that NMC must pay the loan using its revenue sources and not funds appropriated by the Legislature.

House Minority Leader Arnold I. Palacios introduced the bill. It was co-sponsored by Speaker Oscar M. Babauta and Reps. Francisco Dela Cruz, Joseph Deleon Guerrero, Jacinta Kaipat, Justo Quitugua, Benjamin Seman, Ramon Tebuteb, Manuel Tenorio, and Ray Yumul.

NMC has been working to secure the $250,000 loan since April 2006 in order to upgrade its existing facilities.

As of the bill’s introduction in February 2007, the loan was already for final review by the bank, college officials said.

With the loan, NMC plans to construct two to five new classrooms, convert a condemned building into office space for instructors, dedicate a classroom to the School of Education, and enhance Video Teleconferencing and Distance Education course offerings to all three instructional sites.

The Western Association of Schools and Colleges noticed the old and abandoned buildings inside the campus during a recent visit. WASC officials urged NMC to look for funds to renovate the old buildings.

Information from: www.saipantribune.com

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007 at 9:42 am and is filed under College Loans, Education. Tags: College, Education, Grant. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.