The Financial Oversight and Management Board (JSF) asked Puerto Rico’s Education Department to revise and resubmit its multiyear financial plan. The Board concluded the document delivered after an August 31, 2026 request does not allow it to determine how much money the agency will need to sustain operations or how it will fund recurring programs that have relied on temporary federal funds.
The letter, dated Thursday and signed by Board executive director Robert Mujica, sets a December 31, 2026 deadline for a new plan covering fiscal years 2027 to 2032, to be prepared with the Office of Management and Budget (OGP). The Board wants the methodology, formulas, sources and projections used to forecast student enrollment for each year, an explanation of the gap between forecast and actual enrollment for the 2025-2026 school year, and how enrollment uncertainty is built into the financial projections.
Education must validate its projections against demographic data and population patterns, and explain any material difference, including the possible effect on school configuration. The letter does not set a specific staff reduction, order school closures or cancel any program. Education answered on September 9 with a plan covering 2025-2026 to 2029-2030, called the Financial Plan 2026-2030.
The Board said it lacks a consolidated picture of resources, sustainable sources for certain recurring expenses and concrete measures for funding shortfalls. It warned unresolved Education funding needs are among the most significant risks in this year’s General Fund budget and must be resolved before the fiscal year 2028 budget can be certified by June 30, 2027.
The Board cited a prior plan that reported about $7.776 billion in non-recurring federal funds.