School carriers: Education has not paid even half the debt

On August 17, 2026, Metro Puerto Rico covers the denunciation by José Rosado, president of the School Carriers Federation: the Department of Education still has not settled the debt with school-transportation companies. The payment process, he says in written remarks, has been uneven. There is also no certainty of when the disbursements will be completed. The total amount paid, he holds, does not reach 50 percent of what is owed. The note has no dollar amount of the debt and no route count. What remains is the threshold he put: not even half.

Rosado says some carriers have not received a single cent, others have not collected even half, and some have received a little more. The lack of payment, according to the Federation, touches fuel, maintenance, parts, tires, insurance, licenses, inspections, financing, and payroll at dozens of small and medium-sized companies. Some transporters, he adds, have turned to loans, savings, and postponing payments in order to keep operating. Those phrases are his. They are not turned here into a census of firms or an inventory of checks.

The claim is not aimed at students or their families, he clarifies. Out of empathy, he says, they began providing the service even though the debt was not settled. The Federation warns, even so, that the situation could affect the stability of service to thousands of students in the regular stream, in Special Education, and among those who depend on transportation for therapies. Metro does not publish a student count or a bus count. It also does not name the Education secretary.

This Tuesday, Rosado reports, the Federation meets with the secretary. Afterward, the Carriers Committee will evaluate the information and determine the actions. They will arrive, he says, to demand concrete solutions, specific dates, a breakdown of payments made, and evidence that the pending money will be processed. All alternatives are on the table. The Federation also expresses concern about Department debts to other vendors, without listing them.

On August 6, NotiCel covered the government declaring the second start of classes a success. That is another date and another dispatch. This note does not use it to certify that the routes are paid. On August 24, Metro and El Nuevo Día cover another payments thread: IntegraPR failures with vendors. That is not mixed here either. On August 17 the fact is Rosado's threshold: not even half, no uniformity, and a meeting the next day.

Source: Metro Puerto Rico. https://www.metro.pr/noticias/2026/08/17/porteadores-escolares-denuncian-que-educacion-no-ha-pagado-ni-la-mitad-de-la-deuda