Public schools built Miami-Dade. They’re still our best investment | Opinion

Miami-Dade’s public schools didn’t just educate generations; they built this county. They shaped our workforce, our neighborhoods and our shared sense of possibility. Before we hand classrooms to private operators, we should remember what already works: our public schools.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools are part of who we are. They’re where children find opportunities, families find community and neighborhoods find stability. These schools don’t belong to corporations or politicians. They belong to the people of Miami-Dade.

Miami-Dade’s public schools are the only system in the county staffed entirely by state-certified teachers, held to the highest standards of accountability. Every teacher meets Florida’s rigorous requirements, passes background checks and continues professional development — a promise that every child learns from a qualified professional who knows this community and believes in its future.

In contrast, many private and charter schools can hire without certification or classroom experience. Families deserve better. In a public school, you know your child’s teacher is trained, accountable and part of your community.

For all the talk about “school choice,” Miami-Dade’s public schools already offer it. The district runs more than 1,000 choice programs, from magnet and dual-language academies to career and technical tracks, IB and AP courses.

Students can study robotics, law, aviation, medicine or the arts, all within a public system that belongs to everyone. That’s what real choice looks like: opportunity built by the people, for all families.

Some groups want to import the “Success Academy” model from New York, a network built on marketing and test scores, not community or inclusion. That model has faced lawsuits for excluding students with disabilities and enforcing harsh discipline that stifles creativity and joy.

If that model came to Miami-Dade, it would divide students into winners and losers while draining resources from the schools that serve everyone. A system that limits access for English learners, students with disabilities or low-income families would create a two-tier education system, one open to all, another to a select few, both funded by your tax dollars. That’s not public education.

A new state law now allows private charter operators to move into public school buildings rent-free, sharing cafeterias, playgrounds and classrooms taxpayers already paid for. On paper, it sounds efficient. In practice, it shifts public resources to private interests.

Districts still pay for maintenance, utilities and safety even as they lose space and control. Public schools bear the costs while private operators reap the rewards. That’s not efficiency; it’s a quiet transfer of public dollars under a public roof. Despite underfunding and political interference, Miami-Dade’s public schools keep delivering. The Florida Department of Education recognizes M-DCPS as one of only 13 Academically High-Performing Districts in the state. Graduation rates are at record highs, and magnet programs earn national acclaim. Those results come from educators, students and families, not corporate investors.

When students leave for private or charter schools, funding follows them, but the costs don’t. The district still pays to keep lights on, maintain buildings and employ staff. Over time, those losses weaken the system that serves the majority.

Public dollars should strengthen schools that serve all children, not subsidize private expansion without oversight. Our goal should be simple: to keep resources where they do the most good — in classrooms, supporting students, teachers, and families.

Miami-Dade’s public schools aren’t perfect, but they are proven. They’re the only fully certified, publicly accountable system and the only one that belongs to every resident of this county. We don’t need outsiders to tell us how to educate our children. We already know what works: students thriving, teachers respected and communities standing behind the schools that built Miami-Dade.

Our public schools built this county, and they’ll keep making it stronger as long as we stand up for them and keep public dollars working for the public good.

Antonio White is president of the United Teachers of Dade.

This story was originally published November 28, 2025 at 6:00 AM.