Some Miami school officials resign or retire as Carvalho seeks ‘organizational realignment’

The deputy superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools already cleared her desk. The chief of staff is working on a temporary, emergency basis. The intergovernmental affairs chief is going to work for a county commissioner. The treasurer’s last day is next Friday.

The school district is dealing with a small but significant cluster of resignations and retirements among its cabinet and senior staff as the district begins the second half of a rocky and unprecedented school year. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho is now seeking School Board approval of an “organizational realignment.”

All that as the School Board begins to create a new five-year strategic plan; the district’s “Vision 2020” plan expired at the turn of the year.

The district’s chief strategy officer oversaw its 2015-2020 strategic plan. Yet the last administrator in that position was Lisa Martinez, who left the district in July 2018. The role was never filled, though Carvalho says that work now falls to Tabitha Fazzino, his chief administrative and compliance officer.

Two to work for county commissioners

On Wednesday, Carvalho and School Board members bid farewell to Iraida Mendez-Cartaya, the district’s associate superintendent over the office of intergovernmental affairs. Beginning Monday, she will serve as chief of staff to new Miami-Dade County Commissioner Rene Garcia, the former state legislator whom she knew well from lobbying on behalf of the district.

District spokeswoman Natalia Zea also recently left to serve as the chief of staff to Danielle Cohen Higgins, also a new county commissioner.

Carvalho said the departure of several staffers was “not new for us.”

“Our family members, our team members are heavily recruited,” he said. “That’s what happens with successful organizations.”

What was new, he said, was that several individuals are leaving around the same time. He said the district has lost fewer senior staff members now compared to the 30 cabinet-level administrators who have left in his 12-year tenure.

He also said some “duty-driven, mission-driven” individuals extended their retirement under an emergency order to serve the district through a tough time under COVID-19.

“I want to thank them as well as I want to thank Iraida for [her] service, but we’ve been down this road before,” Carvalho said.

Mendez-Cartaya, 55, told the Herald she is leaving for personal reasons and to seek a better work-life balance. She has worked for the school district since 1989.

“It sounds like an interesting opportunity to broaden my experiences,” she said. “I love this place and it was very difficult to make this decision.”

Former legislative aide to work with Florida legislators

The school district will be represented in Tallahassee when committee meetings begin next week by Damian Jané, who formerly served as a legislative aide to state Rep. Anthony Rodriguez, R-Kendall. Mendez-Cartaya said Jané, 24, came well recommended by several members of the Florida Legislature.

The proposed reorganization was not discussed at Wednesday’s committee meetings. A special School Board meeting to discuss the proposal is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 20 at 11 a.m.

Deputy superintendent Valtena Brown, also the chief operating officer over school operations, is set to retire in June, unless she retires earlier. Brown, 60, has worked for the district since 1987.

Jaime Torrens, the district’s former facilities chief who was tapped in May 2019 as Carvalho’s chief of staff, has been working temporarily under an emergency order. That order expires at the end of February and he would have to leave within 30 days, unless it is extended again.

Torrens, 61, has worked for the school district since 1985.

Strategic plan in the works

Phong T. Vu, treasurer in the district’s office of treasury management, has accepted a treasurer position at the University of Colorado. Vu, 48, was hired by the district three and a half years ago.

The district’s chief academic officer, Marie Izquierdo, recently announced on LinkedIn that she was “proud to announce the launch” of an education consulting company called Alchemi Education Solutions.

State records show the LLC was incorporated in April, though Izquierdo says the company was founded two years ago and is not active, and that she just meant to post a logo her daughter designed and recently recovered from a work laptop.

“I haven’t done any consulting, haven’t done a single job. I don’t have any contracts,” she said, adding that she has no plans to leave the district and was planning ahead for retirement. Izquierdo is approaching 30 years with the district.

As for the strategic plan, School Board vice chair Steve Gallon presented a proposal to jump-start the process. The last five-year strategic plan took seven months to put together. That process included two board workshops, focus groups, community meetings and stakeholder working groups, plus recent data from accreditation agencies.

In a November memo sent to School Board members, Carvalho said the 2021-2026 strategic plan will come before the board for consideration and adoption no later than June 2021.

The memo recognized the challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the benefit of waiting until three new board members, a third of the board, were elected in November to include their input.

This story was originally published January 7, 2021 at 5:51 PM.