, had padlocks on them for no apparent reason. Fed up with the many other maintenance issues at their school, three students, including 17-year-old Alaisha Torres Soto, decided to make a video showing the bathrooms’ conditions. The text overlaid on, which they posted on their graduating class’ TikTok account, read: “Uniforme completo jóvenes” .
The Puerto Rico Department of Education did not respond to Somos’ requests for comment. In response to the video of Torres Soto’s school, the agency, along with the Public Buildings Authority, initially told local media that the bathrooms’ conditions were a product of “that she visited the school and spoke with students, adding that the archipelago’s public schools are undergoing a longer-term “rehabilitation process.
The public schools that remain open also have a wealth of maintenance and structural issues. Teachers, students, and activists alike wonder why Puerto Rico’s Department of Education has the largest budget among its government agencies ("The funds are not entirely discretionary and much less so in the case of Puerto Rico as a territory.