More than €560,000 remains in the payment process as Regional Government says delays are linked in some cases to late invoices and administrative processing
More than €560,000 associated with school transportation services in the Azores remains to be paid to companies and institutions providing transportation for students, but a disagreement has emerged over how those amounts should be characterized. In a response submitted to the Legislative Assembly, the Regional Government presented a list identifying the amounts as “payments in arrears.” In a subsequent press release, however, the Government rejected that characterization and said the money is instead “being processed.”
The distinction has become the central issue surrounding payments to more than 80 school transportation providers across eight of the archipelago’s nine islands. According to information provided by the Regional Government in response to a parliamentary inquiry submitted by Chega, the outstanding amounts include invoices dating from the end of last year.
São Miguel accounts for the largest share, with approximately €250,000 still to be paid. Terceira follows with about €164,000, while approximately €45,000 is associated with Pico, €37,000 with Faial and €36,000 with São Jorge.
In its parliamentary response, the PSD/CDS-PP/PPM coalition Government attributed some of the delays to administrative circumstances involving both transportation providers and school funds. According to the executive, late submission of invoices by suppliers and delays in registering those invoices by the administrative services of school funds can postpone payments.
The Regional Secretariat for Education subsequently issued a statement rejecting reports that the Regional Government itself had overdue school transportation payments. According to the Government, €560,189.95 is currently “being processed” for payment to school funds. Of that amount, €415,239.11 relates to invoices from June and €102,706.99 to invoices from May.
The Government’s explanation rests partly on the administrative structure through which school transportation is provided. The services are supplied directly to school funds, which have administrative and financial autonomy. The executive maintains that its own payments to those funds are current and argues that individual invoices can nevertheless remain unpaid when they have been submitted or registered late.
The controversy therefore involves more than the existence of unpaid amounts, which the information provided by the Government itself establishes. It concerns their administrative classification and responsibility for the time required to complete payment. The parliamentary response referred to “payments in arrears,” while the later government statement emphasized that the €560,189.95 is in the process of being paid and that there are no overdue payments from the Regional Government to the school funds.
The practical consequences of delays have not been entirely administrative. Delayed payments have already contributed to temporary interruptions of school transportation services on São Miguel, affecting 57 students for several days.
That experience gives the debate particular significance because school transportation in the Azores serves more than 6,000 students. In an island region characterized by dispersed communities and substantial differences in access to schools, transportation is not simply an auxiliary educational service. For many families, particularly those living farther from educational establishments, it is one of the conditions that makes regular access to education possible.
The issue consequently raises two separate questions. One concerns whether the €560,189.95 should technically be described as overdue or as payments still moving through the administrative process. The other is more immediate for transportation providers and families: how quickly invoices are paid and whether the system is sufficiently reliable to prevent financial disputes from affecting the continuity of transportation services.
Whatever terminology is ultimately applied, the sequence of events has exposed the complexity of a system in which the Regional Government, autonomous school funds and private or institutional transportation providers each occupy different positions in the payment chain.
For the more than 6,000 Azorean students who depend upon school transportation, however, that administrative distinction is considerably simpler. The essential requirement is that the system function—and that the buses continue to arrive.
Based on a story in Diário Insular-José Lourenço, director–Photos from DI.