Fiscal board director chides Education Dept., notes ‘18 promises’ made to pensioners

By THE STAR STAFF

Robert Mujica Jr., the executive director of the Financial Oversight and Management Board, criticized the island Education Department on Wednesday regarding its budget and the governor’s intention to increase pensions for those receiving less than $1,000.

“The Department of Education continues to present a fiscal and public policy challenge,” Mujica said in his summary during the oversight board’s public meeting. “Federal funds granted following the COVID-19 pandemic are set to expire, and the government cannot fully replace them without significant sacrifices in other priority areas of the budget.”

“We understand that the secretary of education requested a budget significantly larger than the one allocated by the Office of Management and Budget for the current year, and now we are hearing about a deficit,” he added. “However, the Puerto Rico Department of Education must live within its means, just like any other department. It is not that public education does not deserve the attention and funding it receives; rather, the Department of Education is one priority among many. [...] Extraordinary federal funds have run out, and the Department of Education must operate without them, just like every other school system in the nation.”

Regarding pensions, Mujica noted that 18 measures concerning the issue have been filed so far, which he described as “promises.”

“Pension increases are promises,” he said. “Eighteen pension bills mean 18 promises -- promises that span decades. If we make a promise today, we must identify how to pay for it today, rather than creating future deficits or leaving the problem to a future administration. That would mean returning to the practices that drove Puerto Rico into bankruptcy.”

Gov. Jenniffer González Colón insisted that before approving any pension-related measure, she would present the supporting actuarial reports.