House asks Education Department for records on planned Montessori expansion in Aguada

Representative Ferrer Santiago urged the House of Representatives on June 27 to require the Puerto Rico Department of Education to produce documents related to a planned expansion of the Montessori method at Profesora Juana Rosario school in Aguada.

Ferrer Santiago said the municipality of Aguada had completed the steps it controls — including habilitating classrooms at the Cocubí center and approving an ordinance to transfer facilities free of charge — and invested more than $150,000 in improvements. He told the chamber that enrollment for the Montessori program had been confirmed and that teachers had been assigned, but the collaboration agreement remained unsigned by the department.

"Por tal razón solicito que esta honorable cámara que requiera formalmente el Departamento de Educación que dentro de un término de 10 días naturales remita este cuerpo copia de todas las gestiones de evaluación que ha realizado... y las razones por las cuales no se ha firmado el acuerdo," Ferrer Santiago said on the floor.

The presiding officer authorized the request and instructed that a communication be sent to the Department of Education demanding the records within 10 calendar days. The House did not record a roll-call vote for that instruction on the transcript; the action was entered on the record as authorized by the presiding officer.

What the transcript records: the municipality committed to cover water and electricity costs for the facility; an ordinance to cede the space at no cost was approved locally; the department had included the requested Montessori positions in its budget request and those requests were under review by the Office of Management and Budget, according to Ferrer Santiago’s statement. The transcript does not include a response from the Department of Education or a Department representative on the record.

Next steps: the House-authored communication sets a 10-calendar-day timeline for the Department of Education to provide the requested evaluations and the reasons the collaboration agreement has not been signed. The transcript does not state what specific office or official within the Department should respond, nor does it provide the department’s reply.