San Juan- Puerto Rico Department of Education admitted during a public legislative hearing that approximately $90 million in retroactive payments owed under the island’s Teacher Career Program is not included in the agency’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
Attorney Félix Pérez stated that funding requests tied to the debt remain under review before Puerto Rico’s Office of Management and Budget.
“We have a $90 million debt that the Department of Education has already submitted for consideration,” Pérez said during the hearing, arguing that the agency has not acted arbitrarily in freezing the program’s platform.
According to Pérez, the Department complied with salary adjustments and payments established under the 1999 Teacher Career Program law until the approval of Law 66-2014, which declared a fiscal emergency in Puerto Rico.
The program was later reactivated through Law 9-2022, though Pérez argued that the legislation first requires identifying recurring funds to cover the accumulated debt.
Representative Tatiana Pérez Ramírez criticized the handling of the issue, arguing that the debt predates the creation of Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Oversight Board and should not continue to be delayed.
“We are talking about obligations dating back to 1999,” she said during the hearing.
The Education Committee reviewed House Bills 616 and 619, both introduced by House Speaker Carlos Méndez Núñez at the request of the Puerto Rico Teachers Association.
The measures seek to establish new salary scales for public school teachers based on academic preparation and years of service while replacing the existing Teacher Career Program structure.
In written testimony, Education Secretary Eliezer Ramos stated that the proposed reforms are currently unsustainable under the agency’s existing budget and recommended delaying implementation until sufficient recurring funding sources are identified.
Governor delivers second consecutive balanced budget, pledges permit overhaul and LUMA contract termination.
While the fiscal entity is satisfied with the fiscal reforms, it’s unlikely that Puerto Rico can come back to the markets while there still no PREPA deal available During the fifty-first (51st) meeting of the Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB), the board’s executive director, Robert Mujica, emphasized the importance of implementing reforms to the […]
Mujica says resolving PREPA’s bankruptcy must reflect Puerto Rico’s “fiscal and economic reality” amid ongoing litigation and mediation efforts.
