No disrespect to Weston, but new school superintendent should live in Miami-Dade | Editorial
Now that we are past the seriously flawed process of selecting a new Miami-Dade schools superintendent — former deputy superintendent José Dotres won the honor Monday night in a late-night 6-3 vote — the focus moves to crafting his annual contract.
In the final minutes of Monday’s marathon special meeting School Board member Lubby Navarro, who had voted against Dotres, said she wanted to add a requirement to the superintendent’s job description.
“I would want to have the superintendent live in Miami-Dade,” Navarro told the School Board members.
Navarro and a second member, Marta Perez, are in agreement. “Absolutely! The superintendent should live in Miami-Dade,” Perez said.
So do we.
Dotres, currently a deputy superintendent in Collier County, has said he will live in Weston, where he resided when he worked for the Miami-Dade school district until early last year.
He said has no plans to move to Miami, for now.
Keep in mind that Navarro had supported Jacob Oliva for the job. He is a Florida Department of Education Senior Chancellor and a former Flagler County superintendent.
But that doesn’t make her residency concern a dubious one. Navarro wants clause in the new superintendent’s contract mandating that he live in Miami-Dade. Given his seeming reluctance to relocate, Navarro’s proposal is well worth considering.
Dotres, who spent years working in Miami-Dade’s school system, is returning to lead it. He should already know well the demands of this community, its students, families, business leaders and elected officials, including, of course, those on School Board.
And to be truly effective and engaged. he should be immersed in all of it, as a part of this community 24/7. His predecessor, Alberto Carvalho, admittedly, set a high bar of engagement, refusing to let even the era of COVID-19 cow him into virtual leadership.
Dotres should be visible, present and off-camera. We consider him the “mayor” of the school district, and he should exhibit his commitment to people whose lives he will touch by living among them. One Board member is willing to let Dotres live where he wants. Christine Fraga, who also voted for Dotres’ opponent, told the Board: “I do not intend to force anyone to live where they do not want to live.”
Monday, Dotres seemed surprised by Navarro’s request In a deflecting move, Dotres told the board his superintendency isn’t about where he lives, but “about what I’m doing for kids.”
On this one, he’s only half right.
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This story was originally published January 27, 2022 at 9:32 AM.