Board of Education defends FY2026 request, highlights scholarships, facility repairs and vendor backlogs

St. Thomas — The Virgin Islands Board of Education presented its fiscal year 2026 budget request and a program update Wednesday, telling the Senate Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance that the board expects to prioritize scholarships, certification services and repair of hurricane-damaged facilities.

During a roughly 90-minute presentation, Board Chairman Dr. Kaiser A. Callwood and interim executive director Sandra Bess outlined a proposed operating budget of about $2.14 million for FY2026, down from the FY2025 appropriation reported as roughly $2.38 million. Callwood said the FY2026 proposal reflects a needed “pragmatic priorities” review after the board trimmed costs and tightened internal controls.

The budget presentation focused on three areas the board said are critical: administration and certification services, management of the territorial scholarship fund, and capital and disaster-recovery work on board-owned properties. The board described scholarship program activity, loan repayment collections and recent capital contracts intended to restore two damaged facilities.

“We have tightened internal controls, improved reporting mechanisms and refined cost-saving strategies,” Callwood said in testimony introduced at the committee. He cited the board’s statutory duties under Title 17 of the Virgin Islands Code and said the board would continue to certify educators, administer scholarship programs and exercise oversight of curriculum and school operations.

Key details the board provided to the committee: - The board reported FY2024 actual expenditures near $1.73 million and said the legislature had appropriated roughly $2.38 million for FY2025; the board’s FY2026 proposed budget was stated in testimony as about $2.14 million (a reduction the board characterized as $250,000). - Personnel and fringe comprised the largest share of the request; the board said it expects personal services to hold flat in FY2026 after increases to fill staffing gaps in FY2025. - The board reported an operating account balance of $13,722.12 (as of 06/30/2025) and said outstanding vendor obligations documented in testimony totaled $40,648.26. In committee questioning, the board’s accountant, Verdell Parsons, provided an alternate snapshot showing a slightly different vendor balance by aging categories and noted some invoices over 90 days. - Scholarship and loan activity: the board reported administering territorial scholarship and special legislative grants. For FY2025, it said $1,579,566 was allocated for administration of scholarship programs, with private donations and payments from Economic Development Commission beneficiaries supplementing the fund. The board reported $303,994.65 in loan repayment collections as of mid‑July 2025 and described a loan amnesty period that produced $29,745.98 in collections. - Facilities and capital work: the board described rent and lease arrangements and ongoing repair contracts. It listed a St. Croix month‑to‑month lease at 1115 Strand Street costing $52,477.08 annually and explained government‑owned offices on St. Thomas are undergoing phased repairs. The board said it had executed a $145,376 contract with Caribbean Contracting Services for critical repairs and a subsequent change order of $53,994; it also reported FEMA reimbursements of $110,041.37 and a $200,000 National Park Service grant administered through the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority for restoration of a historic conference building.

Committee members pressed the board on vendor payments, staffing vacancies, leasing decisions and revenue sources. Senators asked whether delays in vendor payments reflected cash‑flow problems at the Department of Finance; board staff said they follow payment workflows and escalate overdue items to finance and property/procurement when delays persist. The board identified roughly a dozen vacant positions it intends to fill (executive director, associate executive director, researcher and others) and said recruitment was underway.

The board also described certification work: the board reported 882 certifications issued through May 31, 2025, and outlined an amnesty and flexible professional development options adopted for FY2025 to help expired or conditional certificate holders regain credentials.

The board closed by thanking the committee for its attention and by urging continued cooperation on restoration projects and scholarship funding.

Looking ahead: committee members asked for follow‑up documents, including current vendor aging details, a list of planned hires and updated lease terms and costs. The board said it would provide those figures.