Jacqueline P. Che, Interim Commissioner of Education, on the Enactment of FY 2027 Budget (Public Law 24-40)

 For Immediate Release

October 6, 2026

OFFICIAL STATEMENT

Jacqueline P. Che, Interim Commissioner of Education, on the Enactment of FY 2027 Budget (Public Law 24-40)

“The enactment of Public Law 24-40 represents a significant setback for the Public School System and, more importantly, for the children and families we serve.

 Throughout the budget process, PSS engaged constructively and transparently with both the Administration and the Legislature. We provided comprehensive data, explained our operational realities, and clearly outlined what different funding levels would mean for our classrooms. We entered these discussions as partners, operating on the shared belief that public education is a top priority for our Commonwealth.

 While we are grateful for the dialogue, the final allocation of approximately $25 million in local funding represents the absolute constitutional minimum. Meeting the legal minimum does not equate to adequately funding the future of our children. PSS is not a revenue-generating agency; our sole mission is to provide free, high-quality public education from kindergarten through 12th grade. Public education is not an optional government service. It is a fundamental constitutional responsibility.

 Operating at the constitutional minimum will heavily impact our educational delivery in FY 2027. Last year, our students already experienced reduced instructional time, including the cancellation of classes every other Monday due to austerity measures. With the even tighter constraints of FY 2027, PSS must now responsibly evaluate severe operating scenarios that were previously presented as absolute contingencies. This includes the difficult possibility of reducing instructional time to a 2.5- or 3-day school week, depending on staffing, attrition, legal requirements, and final expenditure decisions.

 To be clear: PSS is not announcing an immediate shift to a shortened week today. However, we would fail our employees, parents, and community if we pretended these fiscal realities did not exist. These are the agonizing options we must now lay on the table.

 Further reducing instructional access would be a serious step backward at a time when our children desperately need consistency, academic intervention, and meaningful time with their teachers. We should be working together to strengthen public education, not managing its decline.

 The architects of our Commonwealth deliberately protected an independent public education system within our Constitution. That protection was not just about a funding formula; it was a promise that public education would be insulated from fiscal volatility so it could build the future of our islands. Many of today’s leaders, including those in our Legislature and Administration, received their own foundation in these very public schools. We owe that same solid foundation to the children sitting in our classrooms today.

PSS will continue to engage with the Governor, the Legislature, and the State Board of Education. We will maintain the utmost professionalism, collaboration, and a solutions-oriented approach. However, true collaboration does not mean remaining silent when the quality of our children’s education is at risk. Public education warrants more than the bare minimum.

Accordingly, I have requested that the State Board of Education convene an emergency meeting to promptly assess the full operational impact of Public Law 24-40 and determine the most responsible path forward for our schools.

We remain ready to work with all branches of government to find viable solutions. Our responsibility to the Commonwealth remains clear: Students First, Educators Always.”