We’re not naive, but here goes nothing: Keep politics out of search for next Miami-Dade school chief | Editorial

If there ever was a good time for the departure of Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, this wasn’t it. We’re still in the midst of a pandemic with unprecedented learning losses, an uptick in school threats of violence and a state government that wants to micromanage local public schools.

Carvalho’s bosses, the nine members of the Miami-Dade School Board, will be under a microscope in the following months as they make the most consequential decision in their careers: appointing his replacement. Carvalho announced last week he accepted a job with the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Anyone who’s been in Florida for two minutes expects his departure to unleash a backroom campaign by the state’s Republican leadership to sneak a political insider into the state’s largest school system, home to 350,000 students. Public education in 2021 is more than academics, it’s the stage of political battles, whether it be to privatize K-12 or launch the next culture war against critical race theory, books, masks or the topic of outrage du jour.

Miami-Dade parents — and residents, in general — should demand a national search for a new superintendent that’s transparent and engages the public. The least they should expect is someone who’s been in a leadership position in a large school district, a track record of academic accomplishment there and, preferably, who’s taught in a classroom and is savvy in navigating Miami-Dade’s political landmines.

‘The right mix”

Much of the responsibility to get this right will be on Chair Perla Tabares Hantman, a 25-year veteran of the School Board.

“I am confident we will, as a Board, continue to work collaboratively and within our authority, to take the necessary steps to select the next superintendent,” she told the Herald Editorial Board. “It is our responsibility to identify the person with the right mix of experience, knowledge, skills, temperament and an understanding of the community we serve.”

We will hold the School Board to that commitment.

Carvalho’s preference for the spotlight often overshadowed the elected officials on the School Board, which over the past elections has become less friendly to him. The board will be tempted to appoint a yes-man, a sycophant who prefers operating backstage.

For those with political influence, it’s a perfect time to influence the process. It’s happened before in Miami-Dade.

As Miami Dade College prepared to select a new president in 2019, following the retirement of longtime leader Eduardo Padron, the normal selection process was sent spinning off in a new, troubling direction. A national search had already been conducted, but some members of the college’s Board of Trustees, appointees with ties to Tallahassee, said that the candidates selected by a headhunter firm were lackluster. They wanted to start the process all over again. Although almost $170,000 had already been spent, they got their way, to the dismay of faculty, staff and students who thought the process was hijacked.

A fight at MDC

We agreed. Here’s what a skeptical Editorial Board said at the time: “Anyone who follows state politics and the longstanding feud between Padrón and Republican state legislators from the Miami-Dade delegation could have seen this coming. Anyone who has seen Florida university presidencies tailor-made to give retiring state legislators — non-educators — a soft place to land should not be shocked, only outraged.

“In other words, a remade MDC board is looking for a political puppet — not a professional educator, not a fighter for students and the community MDC serves — to succeed Padrón.”

Fortunately, the second go-round led to the stellar Madeline Pumariega, now MDC president.

Even before the search for the next superintendent begins, there’s already chatter that Gov. DeSantis might again put his finger on the scale. Carvalho defied the governor by imposing a school mask mandate in the fall. That’s not the kind of slap in the face Republicans who control public school funding and policy in Tallahassee will forget.

Several sources told the Herald Editorial Board that one of the names being floated is state Sen. Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah, though it’s unclear who’s proposing his appointment and whether he’s got support from School Board members. Sources also mentioned Jose Dotres, a deputy school superintendent in the Collier County. Until earlier this year, Dotres had been a chief human capital officer for Miami-Dade Public Schools, where he spent most of his career.

Diaz is a former teacher and assistant principal at Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High. As a lawmaker, he has worked to expand charter schools and school vouchers, which have begun using taxpayer dollars to fund scholarships at private schools. Diaz is an executive at Doral College, managed by for-profit charter school company Academica, also a beneficiary of tax dollars.

Diaz told the Editorial Board through his office that, “I am flattered by the mention, however, I am focused and preparing for the upcoming session” where he will lead the Senate Health Policy Committee. He added Carvalho has been an “exemplary superintendent for Miami Dade.”

Of course, should he change his mind and pursue the superintendent’s position, Diaz should be welcome to throw his hat in the ring as School Board members search internally — and across the nation — for the best match.

Teachers weigh in

Political interference was a concern among close to 3,000 teachers and members of the public who answered a survey by United Teachers of Dade over the weekend. Many said they want someone who will stand up to political attempts to defund education, union President Karla Hernandez-Mats told the Editorial Board.

“This is certainly a vulnerable time for education in Miami-Dade County,” she said. “My biggest concern is we don’t have an opportunist.”

Nine School Board members stand between the helm of the fourth-largest school system in the United States and opportunists, sycophants or a visionary leader.

Their decision will be their legacy. They cannot allow the process to be subverted.

This story was originally published December 15, 2021 at 6:00 AM.