PDP's Ferrer rips absence of Education secretary

Ferrer, the House minority leader and a potential PDP gubernatorial candidate in 2012, blamed the governor for problems at the island’s public schools just days before tens of thousands of students are due back in class.

The PDP chief said Fortuño does not understand the complexity of the problems at the Education Department or the how to address the U.S. Department of Education’s concerns about the island’s public school system.

“It is clear that Fortuño has no idea of the importance of appointing a secretary of Education. There are 66 schools closed, and many that are open are in their worst shape in years,” Ferrer said. “They are missing teachers, janitors and even school principals. Where are Fortuño’s priorities.”

Former Education Secretary Odette Piñeiro was forced out of the post in late May due to “differences in criteria,” becoming the second public school system chief to resign from the Fortuño administration. She was tapped by the governor to fill the Cabinet post in December following the resignation of former Education Secretary Carlos Chardón

She took over the troubled school system while the local government was negotiating with federal officials a state rescue plan aimed at keeping Puerto Rico off a list of high-risk districts that could jeopardize future federal funding.

The plan created an interagency task force to undertake an “administrative takeover” of the Education Department, with the aim of resolving all the big administrative problems at the department within 12 to 18 months. The group is comprised of officials from the Government Development Bank, the Office of Management & Budget and the Treasury Department. The initiative was aimed at fixing the legendary problems at the local Education Department, which has 69,500 employees, a budget of $4.2 billion and some 500,000 students spread over roughly 1,500 schools.

Following his resignation, Chardón was named a special adviser to Fortuño dedicated to developing a new education advisory board.

Former Undersecretary of Academic Affairs Jesús Rivera Sánchez is helming the Education Department on an interim basis until the governor names another secretary to take over the charge.

“While it is true that the people Fortuño appointed to head the agency were not up to the job, the fact remains that a start of classes without a secretary in charge is irresponsible on a large-scale,” said Ferrer.