AS the opening of the new academic year begins, Mayor Julio Uy of Villanueva, Misamis Oriental said he is aiming for higher academic achievement among public school students there.
In an interview, Uy said that this will be the number one thrust of the Local School Board of the municipality as SY 2026-2027 starts next week.
“Sayang nga dako ang atong kuwarta sa Local School Board og wala tay himuon,” the mayor said.
The Local School Board enjoys one percent from the real property tax alloted as special education fund.
Being a first class municipality, Villanueva has around P15 million per year coming from the special education fund.
And being a first class town, Villanueva’s infrastructures and social services are already stable, leaving the mayor to focus elsewhere such as basic education.
“Ang atong mga graduate, dapat competitive ug makapasar kini sa mga entrance exam ug mga scholarship exams sa mga unibersidad sa Cagayan ug even sa Manila,” Uy said.
Villanueva has around 8,500 first to 12th graders spread in ten public elementary schools and three public integrated schools.
The largest of these are Vicente N. Chaves Memorial Central School, San Martin Integrated School and Villanueva Senior High.
Uy said he will be meeting with all the principals of the public schools to know what priorities they need so the Local School Board can help.
Already, the town enjoys division-level academic achievement because of robust support from the local government unit (LGU) such as ICT equipment, school funding and provision of new books and facilities.
Being a first class municipality, Villanueva also enjoys better student retention due to higher income per household.
Uy will unveil more of his plans for the town during the state of the municipality address this June 16.
