The last Miami-Dade superintendent search was a mess. Do better this time | Opinion

There’s no bigger decision Miami-Dade County School Board members will make than the one they’re facing now: hiring a new leader for the third-largest school district in the country.

The last time they did this, in 2022, the process was an embarrassment. The application window was seven days long, there was no national search — the entire effort felt rushed. A Herald reader at the time said the search didn’t pass “the smell test.” The Herald Editorial Board called it a “misguided and insulting seven-day sprint to fill such an important job.” Then-board member Marta Perez called the search a “sham.”

Miami-Dade cannot have that happen again. We owe the students of this community a serious and thorough search for the best candidates. So far, the School Board seems to agree. Members voted last week on an improved multipart plan with more community involvement in the selection process and a longer time frame. That’s better than last time, but we’re not sure the board is reaching high enough.

We commend the board for wanting to keep costs down by running the search in-house rather than hiring an outside search firm. Careful spending of taxpayer dollars is the hallmark of responsible politicians. But in this case, that may be misplaced thriftiness. The district has a $7.4 billion budget and serves more than 300,000 students. The board is trying to keep costs to no more than $30,000. Will that cast a wide enough net to bring in the kind of top-tier candidates this job needs? Does it send the right message about the caliber of leader we’re looking for?

We can glean some clues from the plan approved by the board, which says the district’s general counsel will look for an “independent facilitator” with “knowledge of the district and community” to create the search process for the next superintendent.

There will be a way for the public to submit written comments about the qualities they think a superintendent needs. The target date for the naming of a new superintendent is Aug. 13 or as soon as possible. A meeting is planned for Wednesday at 1 p.m. to hear from the public and approve a job description. We look forward to hearing who the facilitator will be and exactly how the search process will be carried out.

The contract for Jose Dotres, who has led the district since 2022, doesn’t end until February.

One more caveat: In this era of heightened scrutiny of school boards, it’s essential that there’s no political interference from Tallahassee. One name has already been circulated, Republican Rep. Alex Rizzo of Hialeah. He told the Herald in January that he “would certainly listen” to any discussion of the job.

No knock on him, but choosing someone behind the scenes, anointed by political leaders outside the public’s view, would permanently taint their tenure — and the records of board members who stood by and let it happen. We cannot forget that these are public schools. The public deserves to know that the best candidate, not the most politically connected, is chosen to lead this county’s educational efforts.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed and endorsed Miami-Dade candidates — even though school board seats are supposed to be nonpartisan — who would carry out his “parental rights” agenda. How independent are the board members?

The new superintendent will have to tackle difficult issues. With declining enrollment, schools may need to be combined. Children need to read at grade level, and the district’s budget may have to be trimmed. We need someone who knows Miami-Dade but also believes in public education and all the promise it holds. The process for choosing that person must be open to the public and aboveboard.

The new superintendent will have the education of hundreds of thousands of children in their hands. Public education is one of the bedrocks of our society; an educated citizenry is key to self-governance. The emphasis on school vouchers and other parental choice issues shouldn’t blind us to the importance of public schools. This is not a decision to make lightly.