Miami-Dade School Board nixes new six-figure post for now, though it’s approved others
Since he took over as Miami-Dade schools superintendent in February, Jose Dotres has proposed hiring six administrators — three of whom make six-figure salaries — with little, if any, pushback from board members.
But during a Wednesday committee meeting, when Dotres proposed a new deputy chief of staff role, with a potential salary of up to $157,465, some members questioned its necessity or were concerned with hiring a high-paid executive amid the district asking voters, on the Nov. 8 ballot, to increase their property taxes to boost teacher pay and pay for school police officers. The board rejected the position ahead of its Oct. 19 board meeting; it needs to approve the measure to establish the post.
“I do not fully understand this new position in relation to the chief of staff position,” Chairwoman Perla Tabares Hantman said. “I do not have any problem with anyone the superintendent would like to appoint to any position. My problem is the title and the job description.”
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The word assist, which appeared throughout the job description, indicates more of a lower-level administrative position, she said, adding the district’s chief of staff has never needed a deputy.
In rejecting the item, School Board members also dismissed another new position, the assistant superintendent of educational services and exceptional student education. The board could change its stance at Wednesday’s board meeting if the superintendent revises the job description.
If approved, the salary range for the assistant superintendent role would be $108,370-$167,690, while the range for the deputy chief of staff would be $103,362-$157,465.
Concerns over referendum timing
The deputy chief of staff position, based on the job description, called for assisting the chief of staff, the deputy superintendent and the superintendent. The deputy would report to the chief of staff, Jose Bueno.
“This is an individual that would be technically supporting the school-related functions that I would sometimes rely on the chief of staff for,” Dotres told the board. The individual would also be responsible for ensuring consistent messaging to principals and messaging teams, he added
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Nevertheless, some board members, including Lubby Navarro and Luisa Santos, challenged the timing of the proposed position.
Navarro, for one, raised concerns about approving a high-paying position ahead of the referendum. Early voting begins on Monday, Oct. 24. Like Tabares Hantman, she said it wasn’t necessary to create another “level” within the superintendent’s cabinet.
Santos, for her part, questioned why this position wasn’t proposed during the district’s annual organizational realignment, which occurs at the beginning of the summer. Logically, she argued, “this would have been done at the same time.” (The timing comes from the “settling of different departments,” Dotres said.)
Perhaps more importantly for Santos was whether adding more staff was a worthy investment.
“If we had 21st-century systems, (it) would relieve (employees) of a lot of the repetitive, very labor-heavy tasks that I see a lot of people at the highest pay grades have to do,” she said. “I would actually prefer an investment in ensuring that we’re really upgrading our systems, so that instead of adding more manpower, we’re actually being smart about leveraging our manpower.”
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New positions don’t add costs, officials say
Position changes throughout the district — moves among administrators, assistant principals and principals, for example — come before the board monthly. In May, the board approved a six-figure administrative position for Dotres’ wife and more recently, the hiring of Carl Cartwright, husband of Broward County Superintendent Vickie Cartwright, to be the director of business services, accountability and performance, at a salary of $91,335. Both appointments filled existing positions in the district.
These positions were separate from the six new positions created by Dotres and approved by the board: the student and families’ enrollment officer; the assistant superintendent of school operations; the sustainability officer; a district coordinator of community engagement; a district director for civil rights compliance; and a student and families’ enrollment director, which is different from the enrollment officer.
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Despite being new, the positions resulted in either “a cost neutral or cost savings” to the district, said Chief Human Capital Officer Dawn Baglos. The district has added new positions, but it’s also eliminated or downgraded other positions in recent years, she explained.
Of the six new hires, three earn a six-figure salary, and all but one, the student and families’ enrollment director, have been filled, according to district staff. And aside from the sustainability officer, Baglos said the positions were filled with individuals who have a “longstanding” career with the district.
This story was originally published October 14, 2022 at 5:30 AM.
