Miami-Dade School Board sets superintendent search criteria
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The Miami-Dade County School Board oversees the hiring of a new superintendent. Photo: Pedro Portal/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
The Miami-Dade County School Board is expected to vote Wednesday on a plan for selecting its next superintendent.
Why it matters: The 10-step plan to replace outgoing superintendent Jose Dotres resulted from a six-hour discussion last week that revealed divisions among the board over issues of finances, transparency and timelines.
The latest: Board chair Mari Tere Rojas, vice chair Monica Colucci, and members Danny Espino and Mary Blanco rejected a measure to hire an outside search firm in favor of a process conducted by district staff.
- Members Luisa Santos, Steve Gallon III and Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall favored hiring an independent group or consultant. (Board members Roberto Alonso and Joe Geller were absent.)
Why it matters: The divide is the latest example of a board that in recent years has become decisively conservative.
- Colucci, Espino, Blanco and Alonso were backed or appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Rojas is seen as an ally of the conservative majority.
What they're saying: Those who favored an internal process highlighted the costs associated with hiring an outside party, particularly as the district faces budget shortfalls.
- Colucci noted the district chose Dotres through an internal search.
- "I have a hard time approving [an outside consultant] when we've frozen funds for our schools," Blanco said.
Between the lines: The district's budget this school year was $7.4 billion, $100 million less than the previous year, per WLRN, the result of unprecedented drops in enrollment and state funding cuts.
The other side: Santos and Gallon argued that hiring a leader for the country's third-largest public school district warranted the expense of seeking outside perspectives.
- "The board gets the final say [on the candidate], but some level of transparency and objectivity is important [and] may bolster some community confidence," Gallon said.
Threat level: In January, Republican state Rep. Alex Rizzo confirmed to the Miami Herald that there had been a behind-the-scenes effort to select him as the district's next leader.
- The former charter school principal and public school administrator said no serious discussion had occurred.
Zoom out: The plan calls for spending $50,000 or less on the preliminary search and seeking to name Dotres' successor by the start of the 2026-27 school year.
- It also calls for developing a public website with information about the search.