C-30: Authorization for Superintendent to Negotiate and Execute a Management Agreement with South Florida Autism Charter Schools, Inc.
Under this authorization, M-DCPS would negotiate to become the management company of a charter school specifically for autistic children. The district currently manages one charter school with three campuses.
There was some discussion, initiated by Board Member Renier Diaz de la Portilla, an outspoken advocate of charter schools, and who has just announced his campaign to run for State House for District 103, concerning the management fee of up to 10% the district would require in return for its management services if they were to negotiate a contract with these charter schools. The questions were mainly where it would go, how it would be kept track of, and what would happen if the Board disagreed with where the charter school's independent board wanted the money to go.
Dr. Helen Blanch, Assistant Superintendent of School Choice, attempted to answer his questions. "Any revenue collected remains in support of the school. In the current one we are managing, we are providing the back office type activities. We're handling their accounting, their budgets, but all of the money remaining is reinvested in that school. (...) In state statute, we are not directing them. They are an independent board. They identify those tasks that they would like for us to perform, and it is a joint agreement. We do not make decisions for them; it is done in conjunction with them. We identify the tasks we can do for them upon their request, and there is a charge for that. Basically it's for our staff time, managing the processes they hire us to manage. We're expecting it to be roughly $440 per student, which is slightly less than any of the management companies now. This is a small school. At present they only have 94 students. They have outgrown their current space, and if they take on more students, it's more than they can handle in terms of the back office tasks. They have explained to us they want to be in the business of educating students with autism, and they don't want to worry about things like food service and their budgets and things like that."
Mr. Diaz de la Portilla waxed poetic a moment about a future of charter school management by the School Board. "It's interesting as we envision a future where the school district will manage more and more charter schools; we've gone from one to two; maybe next year we'll have ten of them. (...) We're going to be generating a lot of additional revenue. With all these charter schools and these independent boards and our commitment to reinvest in those individual schools, which I think is a wonderful thing and I support, I'm just curious as to who is going to control those funds. An independent board may have a different idea of what they want to do with their school, and what this school district wants to do with the school. I think we really need to have very clear guidelines on how we're going to manage these schools moving forward as we expand our foray into the charter school management business. (...) Are we a competitor now in the management company marketplace? Or did we just see an opportunity here and we're getting 10% to do that? What's going to be the business model here? We're entering a brave new world here."
Superintendent Alberto Carvalho spoke up: "We're building this plane as we're flying it. I think it's a tremendous opportunity. Instead of succumbing to the incoming tsunami we're riding it, and we're going to surf right above it. And we're certainly open for business to the extent that the board supports it, to engage other entities that may seek us out for our management expertise, and in some instances where we see the opportunity, even opportunities in collaboration with the union, we will explore other innovative schools. And we're open for business in that sense as well."
Is the Superintendent proposing a union-run charter school managed by the district? Or was he just implying that to appease those of us who rightly get our hackles up hearing about the obvious union-busting scheme of converting public schools into charter schools to avoid abiding by a union contract?
Diaz de la Portilla continued to insist on the viability of the district running charters as a business model: "Is this 10% going into our coffers or is it going to be reinvested. What are we charging for our services? If we're not making a profit, are we basically providing a service for free and then putting the money back in the school? What kind of business model is that?"
Board member Raquel Regalado referred to Diaz de la Portilla's legislature bid while bringing up, once again, the lack of regulation of charter schools: "When you go to Tallahassee, you can regulate it, and we would be thrilled. I think many of the questions that you're posing are based on a lack of regulation by Tallahassee...When we talked about our entry into the wonderful world of charters, the Miami Springs experiment, even though we could not control the board, when we entered into the management agreement with them, request that they reinvest the money. We also said that we were going to charge them $1 for the facilities, to prove that the leasing myth was just that, a myth. It would be an example of how charters should reinvest and can in fact have spectacular programs and invest in curriculum to prove Tallahassee wrong, and I think that is what we're doing. I think our entry into the management of this charter proves the other issue with charter schools, and that is that they cannot serve special needs children because special needs children are very expensive. I know they serve children at the high end of the spectrum, which is very difficult, and usually those parents use McKay [Scholarship, a voucher for special needs children] and run to a private institution. The issue with that is that those private institutions are getting more and more expensive because they use McKay as a base, and we know that. I think this is an alternative for the McKay dash, and I hope they'll serve other children within the spectrum."
Board member Dr. Marta Perez finally mentioned the elephant in the room. "Although I understand the Superintendent has asked the ethics committee regarding this, it still feels a little strange that we are the School Board and yet we're going to be charter operations for a different board, a board we don't even really know, we haven't even had the opportunity to meet with these people. (...) I do believe that it's a wonderful school, I think it's a great thing to have a school for autistic students, but I don't think it's appropriate for us to speculate about how they're going to be spending, I think we're responsible to know and have the whole financial picture."
Carvalho insisted that the district would give a complete financial picture of where the money was going. He insisted that the bottom line was simply to give the administration the authority to proceed with negotiations, and that anything negotiated would come before the Board.
This was seemingly enough to allay the Board's concerns; the request was authorized unanimously.
D-22: Ratification of the 2011-2012 Tentative Agreement Re-Opener Contract Between M-DCPS and United Teachers of Dade
Teacher and UTD steward Chris Kirschner stood to speak to the difficulty of the vote for teachers who understood the difficult economic times, but were frustrated with the situation, and were tired of years with no raises and of hearing about merit pay being an incentive when it only demotivated the people around her.
UTD President Karen Aronowitz asked members of the bargaining team to stand; she acknowledged the health care subcommittee as well. "We are pleased that our health care subcommittee will continue, because the critical work that we did is not done. We are going to be looking ahead not only at cost containment for health care, but at a high-quality, accessible health care for all employees in the future. I want to thank everyone in the UTD bargaining unit who exercised his or her right to vote on this contract, not only a right but actually a responsibility to weigh in on the contract. As the previous speaker mentioned, it was a difficult vote in the hearts of many. But two-thirds of the people who exercised their vote did vote in favor of the ratification. I want to thank the district negotiation team. As I said to a reporter at the Miami Herald, the vote to ratify this contract was done by practical people. I did not say we were satisfied. Our school system has long been under siege, and there are concerted efforts to starve out public schools. But I remain as a teacher and as a mother confident that injustice will not hold. It is our grave duty to continue in our professions even as those who should be supporting us have treated us with cruelty and derision. I believe that a new day for Florida will emerge, and that we ourselves will ensure that new day through our participation in the polls in November. Until that day arrives, we will continue to do our best for all the children in our care, even though the funding for their education has put their schools, our teachers, and our support personnel at risk."
Superintendent Carvalho then spoke to the contract. "I'd like to make five brief comments about what's before you for consideration. This is a contract between the School Board of Miami-Dade and United Teachers of Dade. It provides a partnership between our school system and those who serve to protect teachers in Miami-Dade, a partnership at a very difficult economic time that all of us are facing. It protects jobs. It maintains a free health care option for all of the employees in Miami-Dade. It mitigates the astronomic increases in health care that we've seen in our community. South Florida leads the nation in health care expenses, primarily driven by fraud and abuse that extends beyond the control of our teachers. And it continues to aggressively subsidize dependent health care. The fact that we were able to negotiate this contract during very tough economic conditions is a testament number one to the leadership of this board and and the direction you gave us, staff, to negotiate this contract, to lower costs and mitigate the impact on the employees...I'd like to recognize and thank from the bottom of my heart, not only Karen Aronowitz, president of UTD, but also the rest of the leadership of UTD, particularly those who were at the table. You did a very, very good job under very tough conditions. You negotiated in a tough, aggressive way. Even though it's a contract that will not satisfy everybody, you are right. It is a contract that reasonable people embraced, considering how tough the times are."
Board member Dr. Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall returned to the point that the blame for the lack of raises should be directed toward Tallahassee. "I too want to thank all the individuals who played a role in this, but moreover, Chris Kirschner, you said it right. We should be talking to some people about 600 miles away from here, having them know that you all work for--I don't even want to say it. To all of the teachers, and to everyone who is under this bargaining unit, and I appreciate our president of UTD when she said we have to exercise that right to vote--I made a note the other day that if you do nothing, say nothing, that's just what it is."
The contract was signed.
E-69: Request for Authorization to Award RFP #039-LL10, School Board Based Clinic Services
Superintendent Carvalho briefly touched on the contract with University of Miami to create clinics to serve the community and especially employees. This experiment began a couple of years ago, and continues; the district wants to actively analyze the cost effectiveness in hopes of expanding the clinics to more areas and using these clinics as a cost containment strategy for employee health care in the future. Stay tuned.
H-8: Request that the School Board Authorize the Superintendent to Explore Developing a Teacher Preparatory High School
This item from board member Dr. Martin Karp would start exploring the possibility of creating a magnet high school specializing in teacher preparation.
Personally, I do not know many high school students (and I teach 220 of them) who are interested in becoming teachers; they see what is happening in schools today, and it is not appealing. I cannot say that I blame them.
UTD President Karen Aronowitz reflected these sentiments as well, in regards to the general way teachers are treated in the U.S. and especially in Florida, and more particularly in regards to M-DCSP's current hiring practices. In the past couple of years, nearly all new teachers in the district have come in through Teach for America; students graduating from education programs in Florida cannot get jobs with the district. "I think that it's a wonderful idea to have a program that ensures our future educators learn about the profession and to work perhaps with the universities that have such schools of education to provide for the continuation of teaching. I ask, however, when we talk to these students who may enter such an academy, can we tell them that they are entering a profession with a living wage in order to sustain themselves and their families? When we look at the hiring practices of this district, are we saying that we actually want to encourage those to go into education, since the hiring practice of this district has been based on recruiting members who are not members of the teaching profession, and saying that they are superior to those who have gone through teacher preparation programs. And finally, are we saying that they should enter into a profession that is disappearing because we want people in a profession in order to let them go because they no longer have the security, no matter how well they perform their jobs, to be able to move forward knowing they can retain the position, knowing in fact that they are on an annual contract for the entirety of a career? An annual contract provides for non-renewal of a contract with no cause. It does not mean that somebody has done something wrong or incorrect in a profession, but it says that they just are not renewed for the following year, and that is what we have done to our teachers. So I urge those considering becoming teachers to think about what it will mean for you in the future and for yourself and for your family to be."
Dr. Karp explained his item in more detail. "There are a couple that exist around the nation. A teacher preparatory high school would target and serve students who enjoy helping, teaching, guiding, and supporting others who are interested in education-related careers. (...) This school could provide tomorrow's leaders with instructions in teaching pedagogy and real-life applicability of teaching strategies while preparing students for higher learning opens new doors of possibility for those considering a career in education. And as Mrs. Aronowitz had mentioned, there's a dual enrollment piece that I mention in here with local universities with education schools could be something we explore as well. Finally, I want to mention that this type of high school can help us stay current with the latest in education and teaching trends. We can use this for research purposes as well, where we can come in and do research about best practices, and hopefully students who enroll would later become M-DCPS teachers."
Dr. Marta Perez expressed concern that the school should focus on STEM teaching, as that is the shortage area in M-DCPS to date.
H-21 Request to conduct survey about and amend existing social media relationships between students and employees
This item, brought forward by board member Raquel Regalado, had generated some controversy before it was heard at the meeting, based on articles printed in the Miami Herald this week discussing the creation of a School Board policy relating to teachers' use of social networks such as Facebook.
UTD President Karen Aronowitz spoke to the issue first. “The implication of this particular item seems to suggest that there needs to be more rules on our teachers in their use of social media. I contend that we have ethics laid out for our professionals, and that the use of technology is upon us, and that it is an appropriate place for teachers to be able to contact both students and their parents through whatever necessity they have, and for those parents and those students to also have the ability to contact their teachers. When people do not do the job they have been charged to do, then they of course should be admonished, but to suggest that there is something inherently wrong with the use of social technology for our educators is to imply that they are misusing their roles as professionals in their ability to work with students.”
Ms. Regalado insisted that her intention in bringing forth the item was not to imply any wrongdoing, but simply to get more information on who was doing what with social media so that a standard policy could be set. “ If we look at the landscape and decide that given the current practice there’s no need for regulation, but I think we need to have this discussion, because it impacts the learning environment. There’s a huge potential to use social media for learning, not just as individuals but even as stand-alone schools. We have some schools that are on Twitter, some schools that have Facebook like pages, and there is no uniformity throughout the district as to what is or is not acceptable.”
Board member Dr. Marta Perez remarked that, while Regalado's presentation of the item at the meeting was quite innocuous, that there were some potential first amendment concerns with surveying teachers and making them report social network interactions to principals. She said that she would support general information-finding about the uses of social media in education, but not the surveying of school staff.
The motion passed.
Special Guest at School Board Meeting: Actress Goldie Hawn
In what was a great surprise to most people present, in the middle of H-21, Superintendent Carvalho introduced Goldie Hawn, representing her Hawn Foundation supporting an integrated psychological well-being education for children, who then spoke at the podium. “There’s a lot of focus on our children, obviously with testing, obviously with our teachers and the state of our schools, but I really was deeply concerned about the well-being of our kids. Because they were, you know, opening fire in the classrooms, and becoming depressed, there was suicide that was happening, there were children medicated—1 in 3 in the United States is medicated today. And looking at our future of our United States of America and what we stand for, while our academics aren’t where they should be, and certainly they could be better, but I remember I went to Arne Duncan and I sat with him in Washington and I said, 'You know, we talk about our schools are broken. But actually our children are broken.' So if we try to understand who we’re teaching in the classroom--are they ready for learning, or do they come in with incredible amounts of stress, unbelievable amounts of unresolved issues, fears and anxiety and all the things our kids come to school with—these are things that I wholeheartedly think we need to look at first. (...) So what I did was, believe it or not, I actually wanted children to be happier. After 9/11 was when I did this, because the world was really going to change at that point. Things were never going to be the same again. Uncertainty, fear, and silent distress, and things the kids were going to feel, economic downturn, fear of war, things that we don’t think that children actually think about, are really guiding them in more destructive ways than they are positive. So I thought, OK, let’s bring in a scientist. Let’s bring in a positive psychologist. A neurobiologist. Let’s bring in our teachers. Let’s bring in someone from contemplative. Because I know if you create a program that brings that holistic approach to the child, not as an add-on to your class, but actually embedded in the classroom itself, the class itself becomes more optimistic. So the kids like to come to school because they’re engaged. Because the things they deal with, sometimes there’s no right or wrong answer. But what it does do, is by teaching them how their brains work, they love that by the way, kindergarten through eighth grade, it’s a 15-lesson program…3 times a day they do a brain break because they understand that every brain needs a break. They practice gratitude because research has shown that gratitude brings people out of beds of depression. A kid can make straight A’s and end up killing himself in college because they’re overpressured, overscheduled, too much stuff. We did the research on this. We found a 65% rise in optimism. Aggression went down on the playground. A sense of community happened in the classroom. Less kids were tardy. Less kids were absent. And then the other part, which is the most interesting part, which is what we’re going to do here in Miami, is we’re going to look at the neurobiology of children. We deal with creating greater attention abilities, creating greater optimism, the ability for them to actually express gratitude, this creates a well-being in the classroom that literally lowers bullying. We’re not telling them not to bully, we’re just giving them the tools to feel better about themselves. Inside of it is English. Nouns. Social studies. You bring everything in around it. So the teachers actually are coming thanking me and my organization, saying, ‘Thank you. You’ve bought me time in my day. I don’t have to settle my kids down.’ With all my heart, I just want to thank you for listening, thank you for supporting this, because the well-being of our children is the way we’re going to build leaders for tomorrow.”
Feldman asked her feelings on homework. Her answer? “There’s so much overload on homework for children. Children are children once. When we start loading them up because they have to learn more or be at the top of their class—you know, excellence happens. It happens when children are excited about things. It doesn’t happen when they are pressured. You know, there’s good pressure and bad pressure. Homework is something that needs to happen. It’s the overscheduling of the kids that concerns me. We just load them up so much. I think we need some dream time for the kids—and that’s what we do with our brain breaks. I wasn't a great student, but I've succeeded in life. I think it's important for kids to know that.”
A-1: Superintendent’s Announcements
Superintendent Carvalho discussed Digital Learning Day and once again emphasized bringing wireless into all schools and into homes of students where they do not have Internet access, and Links to Learning 2.0. Still, many of us are skeptical about the economic issues behind this, at a time when there is no money for buildings or teachers or support staff or even textbooks. What happens when the laptops get stolen (as they inevitably will)? What happens when they get dropped on the ground and broken? How do we keep the students on the page they are supposed to be on, not on Facebook or Internet porn, especially when they are stuffing as many children in our classrooms as they possibly can? So far, I have not heard anyone on district administration or on the School Board answer these questions; I, for one, remain skeptical that this involves lucrative contracts with corporations who have pushed very hard for this, with no concrete proof that it will actually improve educational results.
Then School Board lobbyist Iraida Mendez-Cartaya addressed the situation in Tallahassee. She maintained that the most serious issue facing the district is the bill, Senate Bill 1852 and House companion bill 903, that would require the school district to share capital and maintenance funding on a per-student basis with charter schools. “This passed the Senate Education committee last week with little debate, and no amendments that got on the bill. The bill would have the impact of reducing the district’s capital program by up to $50 million. Should this pass, or language in this bill persist, there are expenditures that are currently in the Board’s capital program that would have to be shifted over to the operating budget, so it has the potential of not only impacting your capital budget but also your operating budget and thereby your educational programs. The House companion bill, HB 903, was heard yesterday in committee, in House Education Pre K-12 Appropriations. Two later filed amendments were presented as part of the committee package, and a substitute amendment was presented at the committee by the bill’s sponsor. The first amendment addressed the issue having to do with federal funds that we had some concerns with. The amendment passed with no objection. The amendment basically does deal with the identified concerns regarding providing charter schools with federal funds with little accountability. So that amendment modified and mitigated our concerns. The second amendment, however, would have required school districts to provide charter schools, again on a per-student basis, 80% of what we would have levied on a per-student basis for capital purposes. The source of the funding was not specific in the actual amendment, and when the question was posed by a member of the committee as to what the source was, they said it would either be the capital funding of the FEFP, so your operational monies. The amendment failed, on a tied vote, 11-11, with members expressing some concerns that it would disequalize among the 67 school districts. The issue is that some districts have charter schools; some districts have many charter schools, like Miami-Dade and Broward; there are school districts that do not. There are 43 school districts of the 67 that have charter schools, and the remaining 24 do not. The members felt that charter schools should have a portion of funding for dedicated capital outlay, but did not feel that as proposed by the House sponsor was the appropriate manner. The real issue is the lack of PECO. If the PECO fund had a billion dollars, this would not be an issue."
She also mentioned that the New World School of the Arts is being funded to the tune of $400,000, when they had thought it would not be funded again past this school year. She also mentioned that they have succeeded in getting a bill that would mitigate the financial penalty for being out of compliance with the class size amendment--in fact, the district would pay half the assessed penalty. There is the possibility of having the fee waived entirely if the district meets certain criteria.
Board member Raquel Regalado spoke to the legal aspects of the charter school bill, SB 1852. "I would like to discuss the effect that this has on us as constitutional officers. We are here to establish the priorities, whether they are facilities…beyond the financial impact that this would have, and our inability to pay our bonds, I would like our attorney to speak to the legal impact that this has. I believe that it is usurping power from the board and allowing Tallahassee to set the priorities of constitutional officers. If this happens, we won’t have many options. Our budget will be defined by our debt obligation. We will draw out of general funds to pay that debt, and whatever is remaining we will have to allocate as best we can. I don’t think that is what anyone expects from a school board. They really think we have more autonomy.”
School Board Attorney Walter Harvey expounded: “Under the Florida constitution, local taxes are levied by the school board, the capital levy is ingrained in the constitution and authorized through the Florida constitution. It’s ingrained in statute. It’s the role of this board to set funding priorities. What this legislation is proposing is to determine priorities for school districts that have charter schools. Essentially those charter schools would be required to be funded at a certain level, and after that the board can set priorities for the remaining schools. So it does raise some concerns with Article 9 and Article 7 of the Florida constitution.”
M-DCPS Chief Financial Officer Richard Hinds further noted: “The only way we’ve been able to borrow $3 billion is with the proviso that if we default on any one of these various debts, we have to default on all of them, which means we’d have to default on 1500 buses, 40 or 50 schools, so effectively there is no possibility of a default. The other issue is, if we get through ‘12-‘13, then in '13-'14, our debt service will increase by $50 million, due to our restructuring of the debt and borrowing certain federal guaranteed loans. So unless we can thwart this effort, not only will the authority of the school board be usurped by the state legislature and by charter schools, but the authority and the function of the board will be essentially stymied, if not next year, certainly by ’13-’14.”
Iraida Mendez-Cartaya explained that the administration is watching HB 1343 and SB 980 dealing with sales tax. These bills deal with a modification of the half-penny sales tax that can be levied by the school board with voter referendum. The School Board is considering putting out a referendum to ask for that half-penny sales tax, accompanying the decrease in millage rate. Current statute allows that half-penny sales tax to only be used for long-term capital outlay needs defined as long term in excess of five years.
“The Board’s greatest needs are maintenance in nature, and would not meet the five-year threshold. So what we’re seeking is the expansion, or flexibility, in the current state statutes having to do with that half-penny sales tax, to allow the same types of uses that we currently have under the capital outlay millage, and transfer that over to the half-penny sales tax. Nothing else changes; it’s the expansion of the capital surtax that the Board has available to them.”
School Board Chair Perla Tabares Hantman gave her State of the School System Address during the February meeting.
"The state of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the nation's fourth largest school district, is strong both academically and financially. That is not to say that we will not continue to face financial challenges as a result of these economic times, or that we will not strive to do even better. But we are on solid footing as a result of the leadership provided by this board, the guidance provided by the Superintendent and his administration, and the hard work of the teachers, assistant principals, support staff, and other Miami-Dade County Public Schools employees who work for the betterment of our children and community. The evidence of our success can be seen in the academic performance of our students, which has increased greatly in recent years.
"In fact, the Florida Department of Education reported that Miami-Dade County Public Schools recently posted a graduation rate of 77.7%, our highest in recent history, and outpaced the state's own rate of improvement. More than half of our schools are now rated A by the Florida Department of Education, and 70% of our schools are an A or B, and for the first time in many years Miami-Dade does not have a single F-rated high school. This success has come as we embrace innovative and transformative educational practices focused on the effective use of data to drive instruction, and reframe our priorities to reflect a singular goal of student achievement. We are, after all, an institution established for the purpose of ensuring that all children of our community have the opportunity to receive a high-quality, relevant education which will prepare them to take their rightful place as successful, engaged, contributing members of our society. I am pleased to say that our efforts toward this goal have also been recognized nationally. Last year, for the fourth time, Miami-Dade was selected as one of four districts among 15,000 school districts nationwide as a finalist for the prestigious Broad Prize, an award which specifically recognizes growth in student performance and in closing the achievement gap for minority and economically disadvantaged students. More recently, the College Board recognized M-DCPS's success in preparing students to succeed in Advanced Placement courses. Our district is first in the nation for Hispanic students scoring highly on Advanced Placement exams. And seventh in the country for African-American students. For two consecutive years M-DCPS have been recognized as a national leader on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). Miami-Dade students have scored higher than average students in other large urban school systems, both in terms of scale scores and percentage of students scoring above basic in reading for grades 4 and 8, and in mathematics for grade 4. Our successes in turning around struggling schools have been honored by visits from sitting and former Presidents, US Department of Education officials, many legislators, and former governor Jeb Bush. So too have we drawn international attention. Our teachers, students, and instructional practices have been showcased to delegations as far away as China, Japan, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Denmark, and Brazil, to study the district's remarkable improvement.
"All of this progress has come in spite of the fact that like many others across the state and nation, our school district has faced economic difficulties. Over the past 4 years we have experienced $2 billion in budget cuts. This School Board, however, has done an incredible job of shielding the classroom from much of the impact of these cuts. This has been achieved with the aid of our administration which continues to find ways to improve efficiency through innovation. Our workforce too, along with the leadership of the labor organizations, are to be commended, because time and again, they have opted to share in the sacrifice protecting each other's jobs, working together to control costs, and providing a world-class education for our schools each and every day. I'd also like to give credit where credit is due, thanking the parents, volunteers, community members, and elected officials who have given of their time and energy in support of our students and our schools. I also wish to express my gratitude to those who have taken up the cause of funding public for education and called upon those who craft budgets at every level to prioritize the needs of our children and the dollars required to deliver to them the high levels of education that they so richly deserve. Thank you. Thank you for lifting your voices in support of our schools.
"And while our primary focus is on the intellectual development of our students, we recognize that their safety and well-being are also of paramount importance. To that end, I am pleased to report that we have helped secure more than $9 million in federal funding in safe routes to school infrastructure projects, helping to ensure that our students are safe as they travel to and from schools. Additionally, our school police are a vital component of our school safety program. Comprised of fully certified Florida Law Enforcement officers, our school police are by no means simply regular police. They are so much more. Because our school police focus their efforts on prevention, intervention, and alternatives to arrest, many students are spared a criminal record and are given a second chance to stay out of the judicial system. In fact, just last week, Florida's Department of Juvenile Justice reported that Miami-Dade has had a 60% reduction in school-related delinquency over the same period last year. Congratulations to our Chief of Police and the entire school police department.
"Further, as research has repeatedly shown, there is a strong connection between a healthy body and healthy mind. So we also have strengthened our wellness policy for students and staff, focusing on five goals: nutrition, physical education, physical activity, health, and nutritional literacy, and preventive health care.
"Yes, we have had much success and we have stabilized our financial position, even improving our district's credit rating even as many other public entities continue to struggle. Our success as a school district is evident. There are, however, challenges to our ongoing progress. Chief among them perhaps is adequate funding. The state continues to face revenue shortfalls for the coming fiscal year, that are estimated at between $1.2 billion to $2 billion. However, we are heartened that Florida's governor has released a budget that adds $1 billion to education for next year, and the budgets that appear to be emerging from both the Florida House and Senate include similar increases. Our Superintendent and his legislative affairs team will be monitoring budget developments closely and working with our legislators to secure the best outcome for the children of this state and community.
"Equally concerning is the district's outlook for capital revenue. Over the past several years, funding available for construction and maintenance has dropped from $2 billion to $300 million. This is due primarily to shrinking tax rolls as a result of declining property values and a state-mandated 25% reduction in the millage that supports capital outlay. For the coming year, a shortfall of up to $50 million is projected to be realized in capital outlay, jeopardizing our funding for school maintenance and repair, property insurance and construction and renovation projects. Presently, as reported in the media, the district does not receive Public Education Capital Outlay funding, knowing as PECO, although these funds are provided to charter schools. Further, the district only receives 5% of class size funds, even though we educate 13% of the state's students, forcing us to take on significant debt in order to comply with Florida's constitutional mandate. Miami-Dade, like many districts across the state, has a significant number of schools that are more than 30 years old. Under increasingly difficult financial conditions, the maintenance and construction staff have worked to maintain learning environments for our students.
"We have also found cost-effective innovative methods to reconfigure underutilized spaces for cutting -edge programs such as MAST at Jose Marti, focusing on STEM curriculums and serving grades 6 to 12.
Through the official use of our capital dollars, we have found ways to create opportunities for K-8 centers and to expand parental choice through new magnet schools and academies, ultimately providing the world-class education that our students deserve and that our parents demand. However, if this trend of declining capital funding is not rectified immediately, is clear that our district’s ability to adequately maintain hundreds of aging school buildings and meet the growing infrastructure demands necessary to support technology in our schools, will be severely impacted.
"Yes, challenges remain, and although they were not created by us, they will be solved by us. We are looking for legislative and local solutions to this issue which will not result in additional burdens being placed on local taxpayers, but which will provide a funding solution for the capital needs of our schools. Once again, though, in the face of this financial challenge, this Board and this administration have worked to ensure that the taxpayers’ investments in our schools is utilized in the most effective and efficient manner possible. In recognition of these efforts, I am proud to report that Miami-Dade County Public Schools was recognized just last month by the Council of Great City Schools for Excellence in Financial Management. The council cited the school district’s performance in safeguarding and protecting the financial integrity of its schools…Looking ahead, we will move forward as we have done during the last three and a half years, maintaining as our central focus the achievement of our students. We will work to preserve programs that are integral parts of a world-class education, such as arts, music, and world languages, while infusing classrooms with technology and providing access to the world of knowledge which lies beyond the walls of our school buildings. We will continue to increase the rigor and the relevance of the instruction across the school district, and we will strive to support and develop the professional educators who guide our students throughout their educational career. We will continue to expand school choice with new, stimulating magnet programs and improve the equity of access to high-demand programs across the county.
"Miami-Dade County Public Schools have indeed come a long way. I’m proud of the work of this School Board and I wish to deeply thank my colleagues for their service to our community and support of our school system. I am proud of our outstanding principals, assistant principals, teachers, school support staff, custodians, cafeteria staff, zone mechanics, bus drivers, school police, and all those who work with our students every day. I am comfortable that our school system will continue to thrive and that regardless of what lies beyond the horizon, our administration will be prepared to meet any challenge with the same honesty, transparency, inventiveness and efficiency that has brought us to this moment. As always, change in life is inevitable. How we meet those changes and deal with them is what is most important for the future of our students and our community. The state of our school system, and I am confident that working together this Board, this administration and this community will persevere and continue our trend of success into the future.”
