Legislators press agencies for inventory, maintenance plan for closed schools eyed as emergency shelters

Representatives on the House of Representatives’ Commission of Education on March 7 pressed government agencies for a single, updated inventory and a clear maintenance plan for schools currently closed or in disuse that are being evaluated as potential emergency shelters.

The request came during a multi-hour hearing in Salón de Audiencias Uno where lawmakers and agency representatives debated who holds title to closed school properties, which agencies are responsible for upkeep, and whether investment in those sites is practical and secure from vandalism and other risks.

Representative Reinaldo Figueroa Acevedo, a member of the commission, said the lists supplied by the Department of Education were incomplete. “La lista que provee educación no estaba completa,” he told the panel, saying his district alone contains more schools than the department’s list shows.

Saraí Ruiz Maizón, director of the Office of Public Policy at the Department of Education (representing the secretary), told the commission that responsibility for operations and maintenance is separate from title custody: “las escuelas que son de OMEP corresponden mantenimiento de áreas verdes a OMEP… Las que pertenecen y son cerradas de…