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DOE says FEMA funds financed stabilization but rising costs and auction results reduced Escuela Innova pipeline
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Summary
Infrastructure director José Basora told the transition committee FEMA and emergency funds paid stabilization work and that inflation and procurement outcomes forced a reduction in Escuela Innova projects from the original plan; the department urged the incoming administration to seek additional FEMA engagement to cover escalated material costs.
José Basora, the Department of Education’s infrastructure director, briefed the Transition 2024–2025 committee on the DOE’s infrastructure portfolio and the use of FEMA and emergency sector funds. He said the office managed roughly 2,932.1 million in FEMA funds and 678.9 million in other reconstruction funding for a combined 3,611 million applied to stabilization and recovery efforts.
Basora described a two‑phase strategy: an initial stabilization phase that completed critical repairs and a recovery phase with permanent works under the Escuela Innova program. He explained that inflation and higher material costs disrupted original procurement expectations and forced the DOE to reduce the number of Innova schools the program will advance. "Cuando FEMA nos dio, es lo que nos dio," Basora said, adding that a prior DOE request for additional escalation (about 828 million) to cover material‑cost increases was initially rejected but remains open for discussion.
Committee members asked where the cuts occurred and whether subasta (auction) results constrained available budgets. Basora confirmed the department reduced the program from the originally planned total (ninety‑one) to forty‑five schools that current funding is sufficient to construct and said — based on auction/pricing outcomes — the incoming government would need to consider additional capital (he cited sums in the order of 2.2 billion) to expand the pipeline.
Basora recommended that the incoming administration engage FEMA about cost escalation windows and consider complementary funding sources (for example, CDBG‑DR or other housing/infrastructure funds) as potential match or gap fillers. The committee requested a clear inventory of completed stabilization projects, the list of Innova sites deferred, and cost estimates to complete postponed projects.
