School Board - public_hearing

Good evening and welcome to the July 29th, 2026 first budget public hearing. Please stand as Board Member Espino leads us in the Pledge of Allegiance. To the flag of the United States of America, to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all, Please pause for a moment of silent meditation. Thank you. You may be seated. At this time, If there is anyone from the audience who has not signed up to speak but who would like to be heard at the public hearing, please go to the lobby counter outside the auditorium where staff will be happy and ready to assist you. I would like to ask our general counsel, Mr. Walter Harvey, to explain the procedures that we will be following as we have this public hearing. Mr. Harvey, sir, you're recognized.

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. This is the school board's public hearing to to adopt the tentative 2026 through 2027 millage levy and annual budget. During this hearing, the board may amend the tentative budget and adopt a resolution stating the proposed millage rate to be levied by separate vote. The first substantive issue before the assembly should be to determine the percentage, if any, by which the recomputed millage rate exceeds or compares to the rollback rate necessary to fund the budget. and the specific purposes for which ad valorem tax revenues are being assessed. The general public should be allowed to comment and ask questions prior to the adoption of any measures. Pursuant to school board policy 0169.1, each speaker may be permitted to speak a total of three minutes regardless of the number of items that they are going to address. After hearing the speakers and answering the questions, the board may consider any amendments that they may wish to make. The board should adopt a proposed millage rate and tentative budget in the order in which they are presented on the agenda. Specifically, the board should adopt a tentative millage levy resolution for 2026 through 2027, SP1, and then by separate and subsequent vote, adopt a tentative budget for the fiscal year 2026 through 2027, SP2. After the votes, the hearing can be adjourned. Madam Chair, this summarizes the procedures for this meeting.

Thank you. Thank you very much, sir. Superintendent Dutris, do you have any comments, sir, that you would like to make at this time?

Yes, Madam Chair, thank you very much. And so, just as a... Bringing this to the table and discussing it, we are here today for the 2026, 2027 first budget public hearing where the board will approve and adopt our millage and budget for the 26, 27 fiscal year. So SP1 is the tentative adoption of the millage levy for this year. And I'm happy to announce that our total millage is lower than last year. a .01 decrease from 6.633 to 6.623. A decrease is always important. In fact, the school board has not seen millage levels this consistently low since the late 1970s. Now, SP2 is a tentative adoption of the budget, 2026, 2027. The budget before you, board members, reflects the reality of the challenges we continue to face. It took an extraordinary effort across our entire organization to avoid a financial emergency. In the work of my team. Mr.

Superintendent, I don't want to interrupt you, but I've been advised that we are not streaming live right now. You're having some difficulty. Just for a moment.

Technology.

Yes, of course. One moment. Madam Chair? Yes.

If I, through the chair, if I may ask a question. I guess it would be probably directed to the board attorney. If I might, through the chair.

Yes, go ahead, sir, while we're waiting. Thank you.

Mr. Attorney, I understand hopefully we'll have this problem fixed in a very short time. But if it turns out to be a bigger problem than is anticipated, I mean, we do everything in our power to keep everybody posted, but we're not legally required to stream the meeting in order to conduct the meeting, are we?

Mr. General Counsel, sir?

Through the Chair, yes, that's correct.

Okay. So, absolutely, and a very viable point. Thank you for making it. We are gonna get an update now, and if we cannot, then we shall continue with our meeting. I'm assuming Mr. Bueno will be giving us an update on the status of the situation that we're dealing with, with the problem with the streaming?

So Madam Chair, so one other little detail. It's the streaming that's the issue. It's being televised on Channel 17. Right. So let me just get an update on the streaming.

Yes. We'll wait one more moment here.

Okay, so this is the latest. We do not have an exact time frame for the streaming at this point. We don't know what the issue is. We are being televised on WLRN 17.

Thank you. So given that information and also based on the question which was posed by Board Member Geller and responded to by our general counsel, at this point we shall proceed. Go ahead, sir.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and also we have radio as well. So it's TV, radio, it's the streaming that's the issue at this point. Thank you. So what I'll do is I will continue. So regarding the budget, it took an extraordinary effort across our entire organization to avoid a financial emergency, and the work of maintaining our financial stability will require the same discipline, collaboration, and vigilance in the year ahead. This budget represents the collective work of our board, our employees, our labor partners, and our community. Together we made difficult decisions while remaining focused on what matters most, which we always say, it is our students. It continues our commitment to operating a leaner and more efficient central office, and the board has mentioned this repeatedly. Most importantly, this budget protects the programs that define who MDCPS is, including sustaining and maintaining the arts, bilingual education, and exceptional student education, while preserving the opportunities our students deserve. It is a responsible budget that positions us to continue delivering the high quality education that our community expects.

Mr. Superintendent, we are up now.

Okay, great. Thank you. So do you want me to start again?

No, that's fine. I want you to continue right where you're at.

And so I am deeply grateful for the commitment, professionalism, and shared purpose demonstrated through this process. And I have to particularly commend our school principals, our school leaders that have done really a tremendous job of working along collectively with everyone, and the support from the region. and the responsiveness that we require from our district to ensure that we're supporting schools and doing whatever we can to assist in areas that there may be hardship. So with that, Madam Chair, I would like to turn it over to our Chief Financial Officer, which this particular SP1, SP2 will be his last one, and again, I am very grateful of Ron Steiger, his commitment, and the amazing work that he has done for this school district. Ron?

Thank you. Mr. Steiger, sir, you're recognized.

Thank you, Madam Chair, Mr. Superintendent. So yeah, I'd like to start by just saying thank you. So thank you to the Parents Budget Committee for all of the work and the meetings we had all year. The budget that you see in front of you isn't, my work right it's not the budget office's work it's the community's budget um the parents budget committee has been meeting since october um working towards this end uh the principal's budget committee who went through all of them and as you know there were difficult decisions and the principles helped guide us on what was acceptable to them and not the board, through all of the budget workshops that we've had throughout the entire process. And as the board knows, this doesn't start with a final product, right? It starts when there's a lot of different options. And then slowly we whittle it down on what's acceptable, what's not, and then we get to where we are today. And finally, thank you to my staff, all of them, Ms. Martha Diaz is here. On her behalf, I will ask the state to not pass the budget on June 30th anymore. This is two years in a row, and it requires an incredible effort these last three weeks. So we'd appreciate if that doesn't happen. And also, since they're in the audience, I'd like to thank both Maggie Betancourt and Charisma Monfort for agreeing on an interim basis to step up and help lead this. help lead the entire finance function over the coming months. And I guess thank you again to the board for allowing me to stand up here at this podium for so many years. It has been a privilege and an honor to do so. Sometimes the questions haven't always been easy, and sometimes the topics aren't always fun, but The CFO, whether it's me or anyone of the CFO, needs to have a close and special relationship with the board because in the end, it's none of our money. It's the taxpayers' money, and you guys represent the taxpayers. So the least I could do and the least I've always been able to do is just no matter how uncomfortable or difficult it is, you stand up here and you tell the truth because in the end, we are custodians of someone else's resources, all on behalf of our kids. So thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Steiger, and absolutely. We are the stewards of those dollars for the members of the community, our stakeholders. And we thank you for all your years of service and dedication to Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Wish you much luck in your new endeavor in a very different type of capacity. at a university level and I'm sure that you'll have much success there as well. So thank you and congratulations. I need a motion to move agenda items SP1 and SP2 to the floor.

So moved.

Do I hear a second? All in favor say aye. Any opposed, nay. Thank you, motion passes. We will now hear the public speakers on the list who are addressing items SP1 and SP2. Pursuant to board policy 0169.1, any action or noise that causes or creates an imminent threat of a disturbance or disruption including but not limited to clapping, applauding, heckling, shouting comments from the audience or verbal outbursts in support or in opposition to a speaker or his or her remarks is prohibited. No signs or placards shall be allowed in the board meeting. Persons exiting the board meeting shall do so quietly. Each speaker will get a total of three minutes. The green light signals three minutes, the yellow light signals 30 seconds remaining, and the red light signals that the speaker has exhausted their time. The three minute time limit will be observed. First budget hearing speakers listed for today are as follows. We will begin with Mr. Elias Seyfi.

Madam Chair? Yes. Just as a technical matter before we get through the chair, I don't think we, I don't know that we were required to, but I don't think there was a roll call. I know all seven board members that were here in person are here. I'm just curious if our colleague is present, Ms. Santos.

Ms. Santos did not request to be part of this meeting.

Okay, thank you, I just.

Thank you, sir.

Wanted to know whether to address her. Absolutely.

Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. Yes, Mr. Safey. Good evening, school board members. Good evening, sir.

For the past two to three years, the school system has hired over 150 new full-time positions using the federal IDEA grant fund, most likely knowing that the new recurring expenses would eventually exhaust the existing rollover funds from previous years and put us on a critical path to exceed the allowed expenditures. No one sounded the alarm until I, as a casual observer, did do this this year. I hear that a great many full-time paraprofessionals are being let go. Given the previous request that we provided with the current amount of filled full-time positions and the budgeted full-time positions by category for year 26, 27 that will be funded by the IDEA grant part B. I understand that we may not have the final salary and fringe expenditures for this year, yet it would be helpful if we can get the latest figures. While I understand that the IDEA grant is audited by both federal and state entities at different times, and I have spoken multiple times with the Special Education Department and others, I contend that the observations that I have made in the past three months about the unusual increases in full-time paraprofessional salary and friend expenditures still hold, and the explanation I was given regarding the more than 150 new full-time employees were needed to accommodate two more weeks of remedial ESY per year seems a bit far-fetched. Having a detailed report would confirm that the $28 million in rollover funds were used for that purpose. Moreover, we still do not have a detailed report that explains why the current number of full-time professional positions and expenditures ratio do not make sense. Predictably, most people I know within the school system either do not know what's going on or simply have decided that this issue may not be a good idea for them to talk about. Finally, I urge the incoming superintendent to prioritize the efficient management of special education staff, services, and the funds that our special education students rely on. Thank you.

Thank you. Luna Plaza.

Good evening members of the board. My name is Luna Plaza. I'm a former Miami-Dade County public school student and a recent graduate from the University of Miami. I'm here today to address concerns around the tentative budget. While the proposed millage rate is not unusual compared to other Florida districts, I believe it is not sustainable and maintaining it only fails to address chronic underfunding. A 2022 study from FSU found that Florida schools need approximately $1,207 in additional sustainable funding per student annually. And meanwhile, Florida has historically spent roughly $700 less per pupil than other states adequately funding education. The district's proposed operating budget is 3.6% lower than last year, but the public facing summary does not clearly show where that reduction will fall or how it will impact individual school staffing and student services. And the voter approved additional operating millage is projected to raise approximately $569.5 million specifically intended to support instructional salaries and safety and security. The board should disclose how that money is divided, whether it is producing additional services and compensation and whether it is effectively being used to replace inadequate state funding rather than supplement it. We cannot keep asking teachers to do more with less while telling family resources are sufficient. The public also deserves a meaningful opportunity to understand and respond to these decisions. As I'm aware, the board received the budget materials on July 23rd, the revised agenda item dated July 27th, and then this hearing is taking place today, the 29th. Furthermore, I do believe the budget is nearly impossible for most residents to understand. I said this last year, this is not accessible at all. Posting a multi-million dollar budget online does not by itself make it accessible. There's a lot of jargon used without plain language definitions. I would like to see a companion document that's accessible in multiple languages that defines technical jargon. An accessible summary showing what is being reduced, which schools and programs will be impacted, how staffing will change, and what those decisions will mean for students. Budget reduction should not come at the expense of student safety, mental health, dignity, or ability to succeed. So please show us how this budget's gonna actually serve all students. Thank you. Thank you. Cassandra Toussaint.

Hello members of the board. My name is Cassandra Dussault and I am a member of the People's Alliance for Public Education. We formed this coalition of parents, students, educators, and alumni because this budget and the budgets that have come before have made one thing abundantly clear. Miami-Dade County schools are in a moment of profound crisis. School closures, consolidations, and co-locations are no longer isolated decisions. They're becoming the new normal as our state continues to signal year after year that public education is not worthy of sustained public investment. As Miami-Dade navigates the fiscal challenges brought by declining enrollment, we'll be watching closely. We'll be watching the decisions the board makes, how those decisions are reached, and whether this process is conducted with the transparency, integrity, and public engagement our communities deserve. We will see why their board members are present in the neighborhoods most affected, doing everything within their power to provide clarity during a time of uncertainty. We will see whether they are willing to stand before students, parents, educators, and residents when the news is difficult or when the choices being made are neither popular nor just. The months and years ahead will reveal this board's true priorities. They will show us what values guide its leadership, whose voices are heard, and who is asked to bear the greatest burden. And we'll be here to bear witness, not simply to what is lost, but what rises in its place. Whether what emerges from the ashes of Miami-Dade County Public Schools' renewal or ruin will depend on the choices made in moments like these. Thank you. Thank you. Alicia Bolton?

Good afternoon.

Hi, good afternoon. Good evening chair, board members and superintendent. My name is Alicia Maria Bolton and I am a member of C Alliance and the People's Alliance for Public Education. Today I am here because the budget reflects our priorities and our priority must always be protecting the students of Miami-Dade County. Every dollar that leaves our public school system for charter schools is a dollar that cannot be invested in the neighborhood schools that serve the majority of our students. While these schools are publicly funded and continued in the tradition of expansion and reduced enrollment for traditional public schools without reducing the fixed cost of operating schools, we have failed our students. That means reduced resources for teachers, counselors, programs, athletics, and super support systems. Our public school systems welcomes every child, regardless of our ability, background, or need. They are a foundation for our communities and deserve stable, predictable funding that allows them to succeed. As you consider this budget, I urge you to prioritize investments in our schools, support educators, and make learning possible, and advocate for public funding and policies that strengthen, not weaken, our public education system. A strong public school system benefits every student, every community in Miami-Dade. Thank you for your consideration.

Thank you. Joseph Williams.

Good evening. Good evening. My name is Joseph Williams. I'm party of the People of the Alliance group. I'm here today because I believe our public schools remain under local control. Miami-Dade public schools belong to the families, the students, the education, taxpayers of the community. The decision that shape the future of our schools be made by the leaders who are elected by, accountable to the people they serve. For generations, Miami-Dade Public Schools have provided children with access, quality education, regardless of their background, ability, or socioeconomic status, our public schools have a legal and moral responsibilities to the education of students while operating with transparency, accountability, and fiscal responsibility. I respectfully ask the board to continue advocating a policy that strengthen our neighborhoods, uphold local governments, and ensure that Every child has access to strong, equitable, and high quality public education for the people of Alliance and the people of the students. Thank you.

Thank you very much, sir. Christopher Leidler.

Good evening. My name is Christopher Lately, Jr. I'm class of 24 at Miami Jackson senior high school, and also a rep for people's Alliance for public education. It's so unfortunate that we have billionaires like Ken Griffin, who gave 50 mil to success Academy to move to Florida. Cause originally they operate in New York city. Success Academy does not have a good track record. They've been known to cherry pick their students and their families. even putting children on a got to go list. In 2021, a federal court ordered the company to pay $2.4 million over its harsh discipline with kids who have disabilities. The schools they are targeting are Miami Jackson, Homestead, North Miami, Westland Hialeah, and Hialeah Miami Lakes. If you are a student, parent, or an alumni, please join the People's Alliance and fight with us, because if we let Success Academy come into our schools, all of our school history would disappear. Thank you.

Thank you. And at this time, I don't have any other speakers who have officially signed up. However, we will consider hearing from public speakers who have not signed up in advance. May I have a motion to allow unscheduled public comment? Do I have a second? All in favor? Any opposed? Seeing none, motion passes. We will now hear from any members who are in the audience who did not sign up to speak but who wish to do so at this time. Do we have anyone from the audience who did not sign up but would like to speak? Okay, seeing none, then we shall continue. You do, yes ma'am, then go ahead, go to the podium. Please state your name for the record.

Good evening, buenas noches. My name is Yamila Royan Escalona, and I'm the executive director of Yaya Por Vida. We are a nonprofit community organization that focuses on art and music to help people who use drugs retain their quality of life, and that does include our youth as well. We have been involved not only as alumni but also non-profit individuals that are pouring our hearts out to your students, to our students, students that were us at one point. There have been dollars that have been poured from our organization from different grants where we have proposed to y'all without you guys even touching any sort of public dollars for us to be able to provide mental health services that will not touch your budgets. However, we have been met with political dismay instead. We have been met with no sort of accountability whatsoever.

We have not been- Madam Chair, Madam Chair. Excuse me? I'm not sure if she's asking to do business with the district?

No, I am not.

Okay, all right.

Yeah, y'all didn't want to do business, so this is me now, a year later. Thank you, go ahead, ma'am. Giving transparency, thank you. Yes. I reclaim my time. So when it comes to... what I'm seeing today as an individual that is a product of your school district, class of 2005. I am appalled in the ways in which this is now being reduced and a comment that I heard from superintendent, so thank you so much for bringing up the severe reduction that we haven't seen since the 1970s. I mean, we're in 2026, y'all, and we're still nitpicking. By the way, if I'm talking, if you guys could not be on your phones, I really would appreciate it. Thank you so much. So I'm glad that you guys allowed me the opportunity to be able to speak to y'all today. But again, you guys have nonprofits that are knocking at your door that because of our quote-unquote political affiliations or what you guys feel that we are or are not, we're giving you guys these mental health supports for free for special individuals, for ESOL, for folks that are going to be in the confines of immigration. The reason why you guys have low enrollment is because of immigration in 267G. On top of everything else. So I implore each and every single one of you, if you want to have a conversation after this, I'll be more than happy to do so. But I am not necessarily coming asking for business. If there are other nonprofits like me knocking at your doors trying to make a difference without you spending a dime, open the door, especially with this downgrade in funds. Thank you so much. Thank you.

At this time, I don't believe we have any other speakers. So therefore, any board members who have questions or comments regarding agenda items SP1 and SP2, I'm opening the floor at this time. So do I see any of my colleagues who want to make any comment at this point in time? Yes, Board Member Blanco, you're recognized, ma'am.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I think we all know, we've been talking about it, this was a rough year. I met with Mr. Steiger, and he quickly reminded me of the question I had for him last year, which obviously impacts the budget for this year. And my question to him last year was, so we're projecting a decline in enrollment, what happens if enrollment is actually lower than what we project, and how much lower can we go And our projections were not great. We went lower, right? And so that's where we had to kind of tighten our belts right throughout the year. So my question to him this year was the same. So where are we projecting and how much wiggle room do we have? And based on the current budget, we have even less wiggle room than what we had last year, right? So I think it's important to go into this year having already experienced last year, know where we're going, know some of the difficult decisions that we may or may not have to make. But I want to point out, because I think it's important for the community to hear, and this was the main message that I give every year when we have this meeting. When we look at our budget, and even if it's lower because of lower enrollment, this district puts 96% of their budget right back to students and to schools. And if there's one message that I think needs to be very clear is that when we say that we prioritize student safety and student learning, that's the proof in the pudding, that 96%. So we're 70, I think it's about 75% go straight to teaching, student services, which includes the mental health that we talk about, the transportation of our students, making sure they get to school. And then the additional, what is it, about 20% goes to our custodial staff, goes to our security, our school administrators, and our facilities to ensure that we have good safe schools for our students to attend. And I was very proud to see that while we already have had a tight budget and a small percentage that goes to district, we declined that this year. So we are, minimizing that centralized staff while ensuring that the money can go back to the schools. And again, difficult decisions, we're faced with a lot of challenges, but I'm very happy to see that we are keeping the same priorities that we have always had. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Yes, thank you very much. Anyone else? I would like to then just make a very brief comment, and you touched upon it. I believe that that's probably the priority for every single board member here, is that our schools are the key. The reason why we are all here is to ensure that we do everything in our power to provide our children with the opportunity to thrive and for us to give them the world. Once again, I refer to... what I have behind me, stating exactly that. And so this board has made it very clear from the very beginning, from the onset, that the schools should be the very last ones to be affected in any way, shape, or form. And I think that that is something that has been listened to, and we have followed up accordingly, and that is the one arena that truly has to be kept sacred because the teachers, the principals, and all of the members of the workforce need every single resource available to be able to give the students the world, to be able to get that A status, to be able to get those students on grade level By third grade, too late. We have to do it prior to that. And so the dollars do count. They are absolutely essential and I have to, again, make it a public comment on my behalf that I am grateful for the fact that our schools have been honored and that we have tried to do everything possible to make cuts in other areas and that is something that we will continue to stress at all levels. The second one is a safety and security and the well-being of all those that we represent. And the dollars that have been allocated to that particular endeavor are also extremely important because to a family member, there is nothing that they want more to make sure that their children that they have entrusted to us are given a great education, but a safe place where they can go and pick them up in the afternoon and they're safe and sound. So thank you. because those two areas are very important. And so now, I do have one board member, Dr. Bendros-Mendigo, who wanted to make a statement.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and to all of you who came out to speak, you're having some of the same thoughts that I have, especially getting information. Well spoken. We're not supposed to talk with you. This is your time. But I have to thank you for saying that because I'd like to know how can we get more information out to our stakeholders, to the people who elect us. and ask us to let them know what it is that we know. I am not sure how it can happen, but someone made mention, and forgive me if I misspeak, you made mention of the fact that it's too much information put in one little spot for you to understand. Don't feel badly. I was a principal, and each time I went to a budget conference, I had to have someone help me with this, help me with that, too much. So I don't know if anyone can answer that, Madam Chair, through the Chair, Mr. Superintendent. How can we get more information out so our people, our people don't feel left out? They need to know. Thank you. Of what we're doing. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Yes, Mr. Steiger, sir.

Yeah, sure. Dr. Bender, Ms. Rojas. Actually, I was going to go over to the speakers after the board voted, because I think a lot of their questions are answered in the executive summary of the budget. We've run into this issue a lot over the years. So they're right. The budget is thick by account structure, difficult to parse through. So over the years, what we've put together is an executive summary that goes on top of that budget. It's in the Budget Resource Center on the school district's website. And in particular, what spoke to me was some of the questions about a lot of the jargon. And so in appendix D of that executive summary, there's a glossary that goes through every single term that we throw out, like the FEFP and the BSA, and it defines them. It's about like 20 pages of definitions alone. So I think, you know, I remember Carlos Curbelo, when he was a board member, had a similar issue, and he made us establish the Budget Resource Center, because we had these documents, but he felt that it wasn't being put out well enough. So we have now the Budget Resource Center on the school district's main website. That's a link to it. I can talk to IT to potentially some times of the year get that elevated so it's not as low as the page. But yeah, this is an issue that the districts tried to tackle over the years and I'm happy to point people in the direction of the executive summary so their questions can be answered.

Follow up Madam Chair. Yes. I'm looking at the speaker and she's nodding. So I think I'm doing all right. I do feel though, Mr. Steiger, you know, I've told you, you're one of the smartest I ever met. I must be or had been your teacher.

You told me I was your problem student.

Yeah, but you know, hold on, Madam Chair, he didn't go through you. I saw that. Okay, he just got smart. But usually the problem students are the smartest. Got to chat. They challenge you, you challenge them back. What I want to do, though, and Mr. Curbelo was one of my besties up here, one of the best ever. I want our speaker... to go away, did you hear her credentials? I bet she was a problem student too, okay. I want her to go away being the one to help others understand this budget. It's not easy and I think it's designed for that, designed just the way it is for it not to be easy so they won't know, I shouldn't say this but I'm gonna say it, so they won't know all that we know. So I appreciate you, Mr. Steiger, offering to do what you just stated in terms of the budget and the reading of it and the understanding. Thank you very much. Madam Chair, may I, since I have the mic, may I just ask one more question?

Yes, ma'am.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And to the young lady who talked about doing business with us, you should. You're a taxpayer. You should. There is a process and when I speak, they listen. I'm a board member. I want you to find out about that process and somebody will meet with you and I want you to go for it. You're not smiling at all and usually when I speak, people smile. Just know, we listen. We listen and you deserve what you come out here and ask for. So someone will, as Mr. Steiger said, he wants to speak to others about the teaching and learning of the budget. You should have someone speaking with you and I'm gonna watch carefully to see if someone does that. It's your business. Our business is your business. Your business is our business. So don't leave until you speak with someone you're well-spoken to. I don't know, you all brought all the smart ones today, so... We'll deal with it. Thank you for coming, Madam Chair, thank you.

Thank you. Before we vote on the items, I would like to ask our Chief Financial Officer to please read the millage, the statement that you are so famous for doing on an annual basis, Mr. Steiger. So since this is your last one, I'm sure it's gonna be very special.

Thank you, Madam Chair. So yes, for the last time, and then Miss Betancourt can do this in September. She'll do it in a British accent. Okay, so resolution of the district school board of Miami-Dade County, Florida, determining the amount of revenues to be produced and the millage to be levied for the general fund for the district local capital improvement fund and for district debt service funds for the fiscal year beginning July 1st, 2026 and ending June 30th, 2027. Whereas section 1011.04 Florida statutes requires that upon receipt of the certificate of the property appraiser giving the assessed valuation of the county and of each of the special tax school districts the school board shall determine by resolution the amounts necessary to be raised for current operating purposes and for debt service funds and the millage to be levied for each such fund including the voted millage and where Whereas section 1011.71 Florida statutes provides for the amounts necessary to be raised for local capital improvement outlay and the millage to be levied. And whereas the certificate of the property appraiser has been received, therefore be it resolved by the district school board that the amounts necessary to be raised as shown by the officially adopted budget and the millages necessary to be levied for each school fund of the district for the fiscal year are as follows. For district school tax, non-voted levies, the certified taxable value, and Madam Chair, I will only read this into the record once, it comes up a lot, but our certified taxable value this year is $593,215,475,093. The required local effort levy will raise $1,788,188,728 at a millage levy of 3.14 mills and a prior period funding adjustment millage will raise $63,213,041 at a millage levy of .1110 mills, which is a total required millage for district school tax non-voted levy of $1,851,401,769 at a millage levy total of 3.251 mills. The second category is the district school tax discretionary millage, another non-voted levy, the same certified taxable value as before. This discretionary operating millage will raise $425,976,168 at a millage levy of 0.748 mills. The third category is the district school tax additional millage voted levy. We continue to thank the taxpayers for voting in the referendum and the vote that will come in November. The same certified taxable value at this additional operating millage will raise $569,486,856 at one mill. The fourth category is the district local capital improvement tax, a non-voted levy at the same certified taxable value. This local capital improvement levy will raise $854,230,284 at 1.5 mil levy. And the final category is our district debt service tax, the voted levy from the GEO bond in 2012. The certified taxable value remains the same, and this voted levy will raise $70,616,370 at 0.124 mils. The total millage rate to be levied exceeds the rollback rate computed pursuant to Section 200.0651 Florida statutes by 4.17%. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, extremely well done once again. First, we will vote an agenda item, SP1. May I have a motion to approve the tentative adoption of the millage levy resolution for the fiscal year 2026-2027? So moved. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed nay? Seeing none, motion passes. Next, we will vote on agenda item SP2, Tentative Adoption of the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Budget. May I have a motion to approve SP2? Do I have a second?

Second.

All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed nay? Seeing none, motion passes. I would like to take this opportunity first and foremost to thank the public members who are here for your participation. Thank you so very much for taking time out of your very busy schedules and making your voices heard. On behalf of the board, again, we sincerely appreciate the input we get from all of you. I also want to take a moment to thank Mr. Steiger, sir, once again for your years of service and to your entire team because it's never about one individual alone, it's teamwork that makes the dream work. So to the members of the team, thank you. To all of you on behalf of my colleagues on the board and myself. Also want to thank our superintendent of schools and his team for the hard work and the dedication and commitment to ensure that this budget is where it should be. So congratulations to you and your team. And of course, lastly, to the members on the board, all of my colleagues, thank you for your arduous work in this particular arena for board items which you have proffered related to this situation and for the comments throughout all the different workshops that we have had prior to reaching this point in time. Thank you to each and every one of you, and thank you, it's been a long day today, but a very fruitful day, and so with that said, and no further business before this board, the meeting is going to be adjourned until we have the second public hearing, which is set for September 9th, 2026, at 6 p.m.