GFT has asked the Legislature to amend Bill 351-38 so that it covers every employee of the Guam Department of Education. As amended in committee, the bill covers a list of position titles and excludes everyone whose pay is set under the General Pay Plan. That leaves out school aides, clerks, custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, school safety staff, and others. The 2026 Educator Pay Plan approved on September 18 did not reach them either.
GDOE Superintendent Judi Won Pat, Guam Education Board Vice-Chair Mary Okada, DOA Director Edward Birn, and GFT President Tim Fedenko each said that school aides and the rest of the GDOE workforce should be included. Senator Chris “Malafunkshun” Barnett will be introducing amendments on the session floor to ensure no GDOE employee should be left behind.
The amended bill does not guarantee a raise for anyone. It no longer requires negotiation with GFT, and no increase is paid unless the Legislature funds it. What the bill does create is a written standard. The Guam Education Board must measure each covered position against market pay. Once a pay structure is approved, the Board must report each year on the gap between actual pay and that standard.
A position left out of the bill has no standard and no reported gap. Including every position puts the pay each GDOE job requires on the public record. Every future budget can then be measured against that record.