Puerto Rico will close 179 public schools this summer as the U.S. territory grapples with an economic crisis.
Critics warn that the cost-cutting plan could hasten the departure of families and veteran teachers, bringing an already weakened public education system to its knees.
The mass school closure鈥攚hich could displace close to 30,000 students鈥攊s the largest in Puerto Rico鈥檚 history and comes as the island deals with an estimated $120 billion in debt and pension liabilities.
Since the budget plan does not call for immediate teacher and staff layoffs, the school closures are expected to save the government only between $7 million and $10 million鈥攅ssentially utility costs.
In a prepared statement, Puerto Rico鈥檚 Education Secretary Julia Keleher described the closure plan as a 鈥渦nique opportunity to improve the system鈥� and said the decisions were carried out with 鈥渟tudents as a priority.鈥�
Keleher, a former U.S. Department of Education manager and Washington-based education consultant, worked with Puerto Rico in both roles, helping educators develop school improvement strategies and comply with federal laws. Education Week could not reach Keleher for comment for this story.
With more families and educators moving to the mainland U.S. in search of work and stability, the future of public education on the island may be at a crossroads,
鈥淢aybe the priority shouldn鈥檛 be to close schools and balance the budget on the backs of children,鈥� said Julian Vasquez Heilig, a professor of education leadership at California State University, Sacramento who has studied and written about education in Puerto Rico.
鈥淭he adults are trying to cover for their mistakes on the backs of the children and, essentially, harming the future of the populace of the island,鈥� Heilig said.
The proposed cuts could go deeper. An oversight board appointed to guide the U.S. territory back to fiscal health has recommended closing roughly 300 schools and mandating two furlough days per month for teachers and four for support staff.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not going to get better, It鈥檚 going to be worse,鈥� said Aida D铆az, president of the 29,000-member Puerto Rico鈥檚 Association of Teachers. 鈥淲e have to prepare [children] for the future. If we don鈥檛 take care of them, we won鈥檛 have a future.鈥�
Declining Student Enrollment
School closures have become more common on the island of 3 million people. Between 2010 and 2015, the education department shut down roughly 150 schools. Even with the slate of closures and the fleeing families, the island will have 1,113 schools for an estimated 365,000 students come August.
Over the last decade, the island has seen a 27 percent enrollment drop in its public schools, according to a report on restructuring Puerto Rico鈥檚 education system by the Boston Consulting Group. In that same period, the teaching corps shrunk by 18 percent.
The Boston Consulting Group report recommended consolidating schools. While acknowledging that the closures are inevitable, teachers鈥� union leaders are fearful that administrators will use the proverbial budget axe, rather than a more precise tool, to decide when and where to shut down schools.
The wrong moves could leave families without transportation with no access to education, they say.
In statements, Keleher has argued that closures will focus on underutilized buildings and pave the way for the district to offer a more comprehensive education to students. Many schools on the island are still without Internet access and serviceable computers.
鈥淭hey will justify closing schools by using this language of efficiency and quality, but it actually has nothing to do with efficiency or quality,鈥� Heilig said.
While the crisis has rocked Puerto Rico, it鈥檚 marked boom times for mainland schools that need bilingual teachers.
Puerto Rico, where teachers are already U.S. citizens, is a rich recruiting ground for teachers who can teach in English and Spanish.
The teachers already understand American culture and can often have their salaries doubled or tripled by taking jobs in the United States. Teachers in Puerto Rico earn $21,000 per year on average. Dallas鈥攚here the base starting salary for teachers is around $50,000鈥攅mploys about 300 teachers from Puerto Rico, a number that鈥檚 swelled in recent years.
鈥淔or us, it鈥檚 always paid off,鈥� said Jordan Carlton, the talent acquisition manager for the Dallas school district. 鈥淭he teachers are able to step in from Day One.鈥�
Carlton has noticed that more districts are heading to the island, looking to reel in veteran teaching talent.
鈥淚t鈥檚 different than just getting a [first-year] teacher,鈥� Carlton said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 someone who has that experience, has that knowledge and they鈥檙e able to work with our bilingual students.鈥�
The island lost 3,000 public school teachers in 2015, D铆az said, and departures this year could top that figure. The recruitment from mainland schools has depleted the teaching ranks in crucial subjects such as English, math, and science, she added,
鈥淚t鈥檚 the perfect confluence of districts desperately needing [teachers] who can work with Spanish-speaking immigrant students and long-term, lifer English-language learners,鈥� Heilig said, 鈥淲hat that has meant is really a brain drain for the island for teachers looking for better pastures in the United States.鈥�
