Puerto Rico’s Financial Oversight and Management Board has demanded information from Governor Jenniffer González Colón’s administration on the Alianza Schools (EPA in the board’s English acronym) program, after a multimillion-dollar funding deficit was detected. These are public schools run by a private entity. There are 21 on October 20, five were added this fiscal year, and more are sought, according to a five-page letter signed by Executive Director Robert F. Mujica Jr. The board’s analysis found about 20 proposed contract amendments with operators, totaling $43,716,949.58, that were not submitted to it for authorization.
The Education Department has anticipated a $13,093,924 deficit this fiscal year for these schools, and the Office of Management and Budget (OGP) is supposed to coordinate how to cover it. The letter seeks details on the fiscal review of the contract commitments, why they were approved despite the later-revealed funding shortfall, and the controls applied before additional schools are requested or authorized.
Other contracts did not have to go to the board because of their amounts, but it asked for consistent fiscal controls regardless. The government has a call for more organizations to join, so the board asks how many more schools are planned and what funding source will pay for them. The letter, addressed to OGP Director Orlando Rivera Berríos and Education Secretary Eliezer Ramos, sets a November 30 deadline.
Five months earlier, the Office of the Inspector General, led by Ivelisse Torres Rivera, found significant oversight deficiencies and $35 million not disbursed.