House education committee hears bill on pay boost for non‑teaching staff; agencies urge unified classification plan

The Commission on Education of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives held a public hearing Aug. 14, 2025, on House Bill 703, a measure authored by House President Carlos Johnny Méndez Núñez that would establish a special salary increase for all non‑teaching employees of the Department of Education. The department, the Office of Management and Budget (OGP) and the Financial Advisory and Fiscal Agency of Puerto Rico (AFAF) told the commission the bill could conflict with an existing, department‑led classification and retribution plan now under final analysis.

Why it matters: The panel heard that any across‑the‑board pay increase would have a recurring fiscal impact and must be coordinated with the certified fiscal plan overseen by the Fiscal Oversight Board. Committee members and executive‑branch witnesses said a unified classification and pay process tied to market benchmarks would be more equitable and fiscally sustainable than a uniform $1,000 monthly increase.

Department of Education presentation The hearing opened with Saraí Ruiz Maisonet, speaking on behalf of Secretary Eliezer Ramos Parés, presenting the department's analysis. Ruiz Maisonet said the department has developed a single, unified classification and pay model covering 255 job classes and 23 salary bands, with a proposed monthly minimum of $1,929 and a maximum of $8,546. She said the department used the Economic Research Institute (ERI) at an 80% median benchmark to assign salaries.

Ruiz Maisonet told the commission the department's analytic estimate of the annual fiscal impact of the proposed unified plan was "approximately 36,233,000 dollars 811.28 centavos," a December 2024 calculation that may change as the department completes its analysis. She said the department opposes HB 703 because it would intervene in an already‑structured process that the department is implementing and could create internal inequities and fiscal risks.

OGP, AFAF and UATH positions Orlando C. Rivera Berrío of the Office of Management and Budget and Luis Roberto Rivera Cruz for the Financial Advisory and Fiscal Agency (AFAF) largely concurred with the department. Rivera Berrío said OGP holds funds under the civil service reform (referred to at the hearing as the Civil Service Reform fund) that can be used to support classification and compensation reforms, but those disbursements require OGP and Fiscal Oversight Board review and approval. Rivera Cruz said AFAF agreed the measure must be compatible with the certified fiscal plan.

Facundo M. Dimauro Vázquez (representing the Office of Administration and Transformation of Human Resources, UATH) described the broader civil service reform the central government is implementing, which uses market benchmarks and periodic reviews to keep government pay competitive. He and other witnesses urged the legislature to allow agencies to present the department's unified plan to OGP and the Fiscal Oversight Board before imposing a statutory pay increase.

Numbers, timetable and contractor details Department witnesses said their unified plan would affect roughly 79% of non‑teaching employees; they reported that 1,617 employees (about 21%) would not see a change because their current pay already exceeds the recommended minimum. The department said earlier targeted adjustments in 2025 raised pay for about 3,400 employees (implementations in April and June), and that specific groups — for example, assistants to special education services — were raised to $11 per hour as of April 2, 2025. The department told the commission that it has engaged a private contractor (identified in testimony as "Starter Team") to complete the classification analysis, with $60,000 disbursed in an initial phase and an expected final contract phase of $100,000; department witnesses said they expect the analytic phase to finish on or before December 2025, barring force‑majeure events.

Committee directions and next steps The commission directed that participating agencies and the Department of Education provide requested documentation within five business days; the committee set a submission deadline of Aug. 21, 2025. Committee members stated they will review the department's unified plan and OGP/AFAF assessments before advancing any statutory pay mandate. Several legislators — including Reinaldo Figueroa Acevedo, Nelly Lebrón Robles and Ángel Peña Ramírez — voiced support for prompt action to achieve "justice salarial" for non‑teaching staff but emphasized the need to align any increase with budgetary and Fiscal Oversight Board requirements.

What remained unsettled Witnesses agreed the policy objective — higher, fairer pay for non‑teaching Department of Education employees — is shared across branches. They disagreed on the instrument: the department and executive agencies advocated completion and review of the department's classification and pay plan, while the bill's sponsors favor a statutory, uniform increase. Agencies repeatedly warned that funding a uniform statutory increase would require identifying sustainable, recurrent financing and obtaining any necessary approvals from OGP and the Fiscal Oversight Board.

The panel closed the hearing after scheduling further work on the bill; members said they will request and review the department's classification data by district and job class when preparing committee language and any recommended amendments.