Puerto Rico’s Financial Oversight Board (JSF) questioned whether the Education Department can fund current operations and the expansion of public alliance schools (EPA, known as charter schools), citing a projected $13 million deficit for these schools this fiscal year. Education Secretary Eliezer Ramos Parés said the uncertainty over available funds is the same one affecting all public schools, which are treated like regular schools in the department, and that the department is working with the Office of Management and Budget (OGP) on the budget shortfalls.
He spoke after attending an earthquake drill at a Caguas school on Thursday. He said alliance schools also suffer from cuts and adjustments in maintenance, security and materials. the Oversight Board Executive Director Robert F. Mujica wrote to Ramos Parés and OGP Director Orlando Rivera Berríos requesting information on the fiscal review behind the five-year contracts, known as charters, between the department and the entities that run these schools.
Mujica said the department authorized five additional EPA for the 2026-2027 school year, four of which began operating this semester. Between June and July 2026, it submitted two proposed charters and 18 amendments, 20 transactions worth $43,716,949.58, all previously reviewed by OGP. During the board’s later review, the department reported an aggregate funding deficit of $13,093,924 for EPA expenses in fiscal year 2027.
Ramos Parés said the need was extrapolated from what all schools require beyond the budget. Mujica ordered detailed information on each EPA, all OGP-approved contracts since fiscal year 2025-2026 not sent to the board, proposals for new EPA and their financial impact, and an OGP action plan, due by November 30.