Gov. Rosselló requests lowering UPR budget cut

Gov. Ricardo Roselló (File)

SAN JUAN – Gov. Ricardo Rosselló asked the fiscal control board on Monday to reduce from $450 million to $241 million the budget cut the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) would have to implement on or before the summer of 2021.

This was announced in a letter, dated Monday, March 20, in which he also requests that board advisers–led by the McKinsey and Proskauer firms and accountants Ernst & Young–help identify additional revenue measures that could help reduce the university’s budget cut.

According to the Rosselló administration, the reduction would be possible if about $209 million in additional savings in other areas such as healthcare and education to be achieved by fiscal year 2021, are approved by the board.

The governor pointed out that the UPR could generate as much as $100 million after the signing of an executive order that seeks to transfer the provision of certain government services to the academic institution. The Department of Education would also utilize the university to provide tutoring services, which would represent an additional $50 million each year.

Meanwhile, the letter assures there will be greater savings than the $750 million required in healthcare service spending. This would allow the government to transfer to the UPR up to $50 million in savings that exceed the required level of healthcare cuts, according to the certified fiscal plan.

As for municipalities, the administration has asked these to reach agreements with the UPR to provide technical training to municipal employees. It estimates that would result in about $30 million as early as next fiscal year, which begins July 1.

In the letter, the governor acknowledges the $348 million reduction in UPR’s budget over the past four years.

Read the governor’s letter to the oversight board.

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