Lawmakers weigh narrow sanitary-permit fix to speed FB Leon Guerrero Middle School reopening while DPHSS warns against waiving preoperational inspections

Senator Vince Borja told the Committee on Health and Veterans Affairs that Bill 238-38 is intended as a narrow technical fix so FB Leon Guerrero Middle School (FBLG) is not reclassified as a "new applicant" after its sanitary permit lapsed during renovation delays. The sponsor said the change would not eliminate public-health inspections or safety requirements but would prevent an automatic two-year new-applicant standard that could further delay reopening and prolong double sessions for students.

The Department of Public Health and Social Services (DPHSS) opposed the bill as drafted. A DPHSS representative explained the agency's inspection framework and said bill language would "waive the preoperational inspection, which is the only inspection designed to verify that a school facility meets the minimum sanitation and safety requirements before students and staff occupy the building." The department pointed to FBLG's last formal inspection (noted as more than a decade earlier), prior failed inspections, and plan-review deficiencies identified in October 2024, and warned that issuing a permit without preoperational verification could place occupants at risk.

GDOE urged a narrower, targeted fix. Christopher Anderson, representing the Guam Department of Education, asked the Legislature to extend the inactive period for the sanitary permit through June 30, 2027, which GDOE said would allow the campus to be inspected under renewal standards rather than be treated as a brand-new facility subject to a zero-defect preoperational inspection. "Allowing FBLG to undergo a sanitary inspection by extending the inactive period of its sanitary permit to June 30, 2027 is a reasonable request," GDOE wrote.

Why it matters: FBLG has been closed since December 2022 for structural concerns and refurbishment; GDOE says procurement delays and unfinished work mean the campus cannot meet the 0-defect preoperational standard for a newly classified facility, yet officials say the work is refurbishment rather than new construction. Committee members emphasized the need to preserve public-health safeguards while finding pragmatic solutions to reopen the campus and end double sessions.

Next steps: Senators asked DPHSS for concrete alternatives that preserve public-safety verification (for example, permitting phased occupancy or conditioned permits that allow uncompleted noncritical work to remain subject to remediation). GDOE asked the committee to include clarifying language in markup to preserve regulatory oversight while addressing practical refurbishment timelines. No vote was taken at the hearing.