With only 16 people applying to replace Carvalho, concern heightened about search process
With the application window to become the next superintendent of Miami-Dade Public Schools closed, some community members remain focused on the process for selecting the district’s new leader instead of the candidates themselves.
The soon-to-be open position drew 16 candidates, including a former district executive, a current administrative director and a Florida Department of Education senior chancellor. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, who is leaving to head the Los Angeles Unified School District, is set to leave his post Feb. 3.
The list of candidates is “not my issue,” said T. Willard Fair, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Miami. “I would be the last one to say (who) should or shouldn’t be on there. My issue is how [the School Board] arrived at the names.”
The School Board’s process of selecting the district’s next leader has come under sharp criticism from many, including Fair, who was among the more than two dozen community leaders who signed a memo earlier this week urging the board to reconsider its plan. Among the organizations that signed the letter: the League of Women Voters, URGENT Inc., South-Dade NAACP, and the Overtown Youth Center.
On Jan. 5, the board agreed to a seven-day application period for interested candidates to run the nation’s fourth-largest school district, which has a $7 billion budget, about 400 schools and 335,000 students between traditional and charter schools. Miami-Dade Public Schools is also the county’s largest employer.
Board members at Wednesday’s meeting expressed support for picking the next leader before Carvalho’s final day. Carvalho has been superintendent for 14 years.
Stakeholders across the district in recent days have cited a lack of transparency and highlighted the seemingly rushed process.
The board is set to hold a special meeting Tuesday to “determine the appropriate process to screen, identify and hire an appropriate, qualified applicant to serve as Superintendent of Schools,” according to the agenda for that meeting.
More time, potentially more candidates
Like Fair, Doretha Nichson, director of the Coalition for Education and Economic Development, has yet to scour through the list of applicants. She is watching, however, to “make sure (School Board members) go through with a process that is thorough and involves community participation.”
More importantly, she said, she hopes as much scrutiny and attention that’s been given to the search process is paid to the school system once a new leader is selected.
For his part, William DC Clark, president and founder of DCS Mentoring Program, did take note of who applied for the role. His initial reaction was to the absence of African American candidates, which he believes is the result of a rushed process and the board’s decision to forgo a national search. Clark would have liked to see School Board Vice Chair Steve Gallon III included in the list of names, he said.
“We want an individual who’s able to communicate with (everyone) in the community, not just one (group),” he said. There are “few hires of people of color downtown (and) it doesn’t appear that (the School Board) is giving people of color a chance to move up and make a good career out of that.”
If a new superintendent holds up the status quo, Clark said, “It does us no good.”
Sandra West, president of the Miami-Dade County Council of PTA/PTSA, also reviewed the applicants: Some names she expected to see, while others, she said, surprised her. Nevertheless, she was shocked that many were able to submit their materials on time. Even as the council’s president, she’s unable to call a meeting among her constituents in just seven days.
“If (board members) make a decision at the meeting (Tuesday), I’ll know it was predetermined,” she said. “If they invite stakeholders to the process, I’ll know we were heard, even if it was just a little bit.”
This story was originally published January 13, 2022 at 8:33 PM.
