E3 Virgin Islands

Author: e3admin

  • Save the Children

    Luciano said it best: “If you want to save the world, you have to save the children.”

    With the help of technology, I analyzed the list of bills introduced by the Legislature. Unsurprisingly, very few focused on education policy or meaningful reform. Yet we keep asking why we are not seeing better outcomes as a territory. A better Virgin Islands starts with our children. What we invest in them is what we get back.

    Look at Mississippi. For years, it ranked near the bottom in education. Today, it is being recognized nationally for major improvements in reading scores. Those gains did not happen by accident. Mississippi implemented early literacy laws, mandatory reading screenings, reading intervention programs, teacher training rooted in the science of reading, literacy coaching, and stronger accountability standards. They made literacy a priority and backed it with policy.

    The Virgin Islands should be seriously discussing:

    • mandatory early literacy screenings for K-3 students
    • intensive reading intervention before students fall permanently behind
    • stronger truancy and absenteeism enforcement
    • expanded after-school and summer literacy programs
    • teacher training in evidence-based reading instruction
    • public school accountability dashboards parents can understand
    • stronger collaboration between schools and parents when students struggle academically
    • mentorship and career exposure programs starting in middle school

    This is not about blaming teachers or parents. It is about finally aligning government, schools, families, churches, nonprofits, and businesses around one shared mission: preparing children to succeed.

    We cannot continue talking about crime, poverty, workforce shortages, and economic stagnation while treating education reform like a side issue. Education is the foundation. If we want to break the cycle of frustration in the Virgin Islands, we have to start where every successful society starts: with the children.

  • Coral Reef Health in VI Waters: What the Latest Data Tells Us

    The coral reefs of the U.S. Virgin Islands support an estimated $100 million in annual economic activity — through fishing, tourism, and coastal protection. They also represent an irreplaceable ecological heritage that took thousands of years to develop.

    Current status

    NOAA’s National Coral Reef Monitoring Program tracks reef health across U.S. territories. In the VI, recent assessments show continued stress from three compounding threats: ocean warming (bleaching events), physical damage from the 2017 hurricanes, and chronic stressors including runoff and sedimentation.

    The 2023 bleaching event

    The 2023 mass bleaching event — one of the most severe on record globally — hit Caribbean reefs hard. VI waters recorded temperatures significantly above historical averages throughout the summer, triggering widespread bleaching. The full extent of mortality from that event is still being assessed.

    What can be done

    Reef restoration efforts exist and show promise at small scales. But the primary driver of reef decline — ocean warming — requires action at a scale far beyond what any single territory can achieve. What the VI can control is local stressor reduction: land use policy, runoff management, fishing regulations, and diver impact limits.

    This perspective is part of E3 VI’s Environment series. Data sourced from NOAA’s National Coral Reef Monitoring Program.

  • Small Business in the VI: Strengths, Gaps, and What the Data Shows

    According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses (firms with fewer than 500 employees) account for the vast majority of private-sector employment in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In an economy this size, even a modest restaurant or retail shop can be a significant employer.

    Structural challenges

    VI small businesses face cost structures that mainland counterparts don’t: higher shipping costs for goods, higher energy costs (WAPA electricity rates are among the highest in the U.S.), limited access to capital, and a smaller local customer base that is heavily dependent on tourism seasonality.

    Post-hurricane recovery

    Irma and Maria disproportionately affected small businesses, which had less access to disaster recovery capital than larger firms. Many did not reopen. The economic footprint of lost small businesses is difficult to measure precisely — but it shows up in reduced employment, reduced tax revenue, and reduced community vitality.

    What effective support looks like

    E3 VI will track small business health indicators over time and highlight both the gaps in current support structures and the models — from other small island economies — that have shown promise.

    This perspective is part of E3 VI’s Economy series.

  • Political Parties and the VI: Why the Two-Party System Doesn’t Quite Fit

    Virgin Islanders are U.S. citizens who cannot vote for President in the general election. They can register as Democrats or Republicans, participate in presidential primaries, and send delegates to national conventions. But the federal government’s relationship to the territory is governed by the Territorial Clause of the Constitution — not the same framework that applies to states.

    Local party dynamics

    In the VI, the Democratic Party has historically dominated territorial politics. But party affiliation doesn’t always predict policy positions in the way mainland observers might expect. Local issues — water infrastructure, WAPA rates, education funding, hurricane recovery — often cut across party lines in ways that reflect the territory’s unique circumstances.

    The status question

    Underlying much of VI political discourse is the unresolved question of the territory’s political status. Statehood, independence, free association, and enhanced commonwealth status each have advocates. The two-party system, designed for a nation of states, has no clean framework for this conversation.

    This is an analytical perspective from E3 VI, not an endorsement of any party or candidate.

  • What Happens to VI Students Who Can’t Afford to Leave?

    Every year, a significant share of VI high school graduates leave the territory for college on the mainland. Many don’t return. This “brain drain” is well documented and frequently lamented.

    The students who stay

    Less discussed are the students who remain — either by choice or because they can’t afford to leave. For them, the University of the Virgin Islands is the primary option for higher education. UVI serves roughly 2,000 students across its St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses.

    The funding gap

    UVI is chronically underfunded relative to comparable land-grant institutions on the mainland. Per-student funding from the territorial government has declined in real terms over the past decade, even as post-hurricane recovery costs have strained the overall budget.

    The workforce connection

    What happens to VI students who pursue higher education locally matters not just for those individuals — it shapes the territory’s workforce for the next generation. A well-funded, academically strong UVI is one of the highest-return investments the territory can make.

    This perspective is part of E3 VI’s Education series. Data sourced from the University of the Virgin Islands and the National Center for Education Statistics.

  • Tourism Dollars and Who They Actually Reach

    Tourism accounts for roughly 60% of the U.S. Virgin Islands’ GDP — a figure that hasn’t changed meaningfully in decades. But aggregate figures hide as much as they reveal.

    The reach problem

    When a cruise ship docks in Charlotte Amalie or Frederiksted, how much of the spending stays in the Virgin Islands? Studies of Caribbean tourism economies consistently find that “leakage” — revenue that flows back out to foreign-owned suppliers, imported goods, and off-island financial services — can exceed 70% of gross tourism revenue in small island economies.

    Local ownership and the multiplier effect

    The key variable in determining how much tourism revenue benefits local residents is local ownership. Tourism dollars spent at locally owned restaurants, shops, and tour operators cycle through the local economy multiple times — creating jobs, supporting local suppliers, and generating tax revenue.

    What the VI data shows

    The USVI Bureau of Economic Research tracks visitor spending, but granular data on local versus foreign ownership of tourism-sector businesses is harder to come by. E3 VI is tracking this gap and will publish findings as data becomes available.

    This perspective is part of E3 VI’s ongoing Economy series. Data sourced from the USVI Bureau of Economic Research and Caribbean Tourism Organization.

  • After the Storms: Is the VI Building Back Smarter?

    On September 6, 2017, Hurricane Irma became the first Category 5 storm to make direct landfall in the Leeward Islands in recorded history. Two weeks later, Maria hit. Together, they inflicted an estimated $2.8 billion in damage on the U.S. Virgin Islands — a territory with a GDP of roughly $4 billion.

    What “building back smarter” actually means

    The phrase has become standard government language after disasters. After Sandy, after Katrina, after every major storm, officials promise to build back better, smarter, stronger. The problem is that the phrase is easy to say and hard to measure.

    “The question isn’t just whether we’re building back. It’s whether we’re building back in ways that will protect us from what’s coming — not what already came.”

    In the Virgin Islands context, “building back smarter” has at least three distinct dimensions: physical resilience, ecological resilience, and economic resilience.

    What the data shows

    On physical resilience, the picture is cautiously positive. The territory has updated building codes for new construction, and FEMA’s hazard mitigation grant programs have funded some meaningful hardening of critical infrastructure — particularly around the electrical grid.

    On ecological resilience, the picture is more concerning. The coral reefs that buffer VI coastlines from storm surge sustained additional bleaching damage during the 2023 mass bleaching event — on top of storm damage they were still recovering from.

    On economic resilience, the data is sobering. Tourism’s share of the VI economy is approximately the same today as it was before Irma and Maria.

    The question that matters now

    Climate science is clear that the VI will face stronger, more frequent storms as ocean temperatures rise. E3 VI will continue tracking this question — not as a political argument, but as a civic accountability matter.

    This is an editorial perspective from E3 VI. We welcome responses, corrections, and additional data from government agencies, researchers, and community members.

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