School Board - Special Meeting

Good morning and welcome to the August 19th, 2026 special board meeting of the Miami-Dade County School Board. Please stand as board member Espino resets in the Pledge of Allegiance. To the flag of the United States of America and 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. Before we proceed with today's agenda, first of all, I'd like to take a moment of personal privilege to congratulate our Vice Chair, Monica Gallucci, who was re-elected as a school board member yesterday. So,

Congratulations. Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate that, and thank you to everyone who has entrusted this great responsibility and privilege upon me. I'm truly appreciative, and I look forward to serving for four more years. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, and congratulations to the other board members that were also elected without opposition.

Congratulations to you all as well.

So before we proceed with today's agenda, I would like to acknowledge that school board member Luisa Santos is going to be participating again in this meeting virtually and through the communications media technology. At the special school board meeting on July 29th, 2026, the board approved board member Santos' request to participate and vote virtually pursuant to board policy 0165, participation and voting by board members at public board meetings through communications media technology in extraordinary circumstances. A physical quorum of the board is present in the meeting room and Member Santos has joined us remotely. In accordance with Board Policy 0165, Member Santos is authorized to fully participate in this meeting and will announce each of her votes verbally for the record. Welcome, Board Member Santos.

Absolutely, our pleasure.

At this time, if there is anyone from the audience who would like to address agenda items SP1 and SP2 but has not signed up to speak yet, please go to the lobby counter outside the auditorium where staff is ready and available as well as happy to assist you. The board must approve additional speakers to agenda items by a majority vote. Do I hear a motion for approval of the supplemental list of speakers? Do I have a second? Yes. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed nay? Seeing none, motion passes. The list of the additional speakers will be distributed once completed. Ms. Yopes, are there any added items? to be considered by this board. Good morning, Madam Chair. Yes, SP2.

Thank you.

I find good cause to vary from the established agenda pursuant to the reasons stated in the agenda item. The purpose of today's meeting is to review and consider approval of employment agreement for the next superintendent of schools and matters related to the comprehensive integrity-based selection and appointment process for the next superintendent of schools. Number one, review and consider approval of the execution of the proposed negotiated separation agreement for the current superintendent of schools, and two, establish and classify contracted position of senior transitional advisor to the superintendent, and number three, approve the job description of the contracted positions for senior transitional advisor to the superintendent. Before we move agenda items SP1 and SP2 to the floor, I would like to remind the public speakers that pursuant to Board Policy 0169.1, individuals are allowed two minutes to address an agenda item. The green light signals for two minutes. The yellow light signals that you have 30 seconds left. And the red light signals that the speaker has exhausted their time. The two minute time limit will be observed. I need a motion to move agenda items SP1 to the floor. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed nay. Seeing none, motion passes. SP1 is on the floor. SP1 is the matters related to the comprehensive integrity based selection and appointment process for the next superintendent of schools review and consider approval of employment agreement for the next superintendent of schools. The actions that have been proposed are as follows, that the school board of Miami-Dade County, Florida approve the proposed employment agreement for the next superintendent of schools, Mr. Rafael Villalobos, and authorize the school board chair to execute an employment agreement. I will now call any speakers that have signed up. At this moment, I don't have any. Ms. Yopes, are there any public speakers that have signed up at this time, ma'am?

Through the chair at the moment, we currently have no one signed up. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Then I will go ahead and present the item. Following a series of professional and constructive responsible discussions with Mr. Villalobos and his legal representatives, as well as our general counsel, I am happy to bring to my colleagues on the board the reached agreement on the terms and conditions of a tentative employment contract for the next MDCPS Superintendent of Schools, Mr. Rafael Villalobos. A copy of this agreement was forwarded to the board members by our general counsel, Mr. Harvey. The agreement reflects the collaborative efforts of all parties and incorporates the provisions and conditions traditionally included in a superintendent's employment contract. Together with additional language and terms, that were mutually reviewed, discussed, and agreed upon by the parties. The successful conclusion of these negotiations represent important step forward and also reflects a shared commitment to establishing clear expectations, responsibilities, and terms governing the superintendent's employment. As part of the negotiation process, I conducted extensive research into the salaries, benefits, and employment agreements of school district superintendents across the nation and throughout the state of Florida. This review included both current as well as prior employment agreements for superintendents in Miami-Dade County public schools. and also in Miami-Dade altogether. Current contracts for school districts in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Clark County, Las Vegas, Broward County, Duval County, Hillsborough County, Orange County, and Palm Beach County were also reviewed. The tentative employment agreement I am presenting today for your consideration is grounded in this comprehensive research and reflects a fair, responsible, and competitive contract. It takes into consideration comparable compensation packages, the scope and responsibilities of this position, and the prevailing terms provided to superintendents in similarly situated school districts. My main objective has always been to present an agreement that is both reasonable and fiscally responsible. while appropriately recognizing the responsibilities and the demands of this position. The only remaining matter to be finalized, if the board agrees, is a start date which should be determined once SP2 has been acted upon. Finally, I want to just very briefly take this opportunity, first of all, to thank Mr. Villalobos for all of the time, energy, and effort that was put into this endeavor. Your professionalism is greatly appreciated and your sincere love and dedication and devotion to Miami-Dade County Public Schools was clearly evident to me throughout the process. I would be remiss if I also didn't recognize the two attorneys that you had representing you. Mr. Roberto Fernandez, you have been a pleasure, sir, to work with as well. All of you have been tough negotiators, but still a pleasure to work with all of you. And of course, who we know as Tio, right? And that is Mr. Villalobos' uncle, and amazing attorney as well. Thank you, sir, for your guidance, your input, and again, for the professionalism exhibited by all of you. So at this time, I know that many, many hours were put into this endeavor, and I'm happy to be at the point where we are now. And so with that said, it is imperative that I open to my colleagues on the board, try to follow up accordingly with their requests, and at this time, anyone who would like to speak from the board is welcome to do so.

Okay, seeing none. Thank you, Madam Chair, I'd like to speak. Okay, yes, ma'am. Thank you so much and thank you for all the effort that you have put in into negotiating these contracts. I'm sure you've spent endless hours, so we're grateful for that. I did want to take a moment, which I was hoping to have a discussion on this earlier in the week, but obviously because of sunshine, we have to do this here and talk about one of the sections of the contract on evaluation. This agreement is thorough and clear, and you did a great job of including language in that section that says that the board and the superintendent will create an evaluation form together that the superintendent will complete a written self assessment that their annual goals and objectives to be established and that the board and superintendent will set timelines and meetings to complete the evaluation process. Um, the 1st part of that agreement says may evaluate the superintendent each year. While the rest of the section already describes the process by which we would do that. So, I think for the language to be consistent, I wanted to offer to my colleagues and. To the board to keep it consistent that we update 1 small word. Which I know, obviously, it's a mutually agreed contract. So, um. the superintendent would have to agree to it, but to change that the board may evaluate to the board shall evaluate. It's a very small change and it's aligned with the process that's already outlined in the contract as is. So I would move to consider that so we can open for discussion on changing that one word in the contract.

Do I have a second? I do not have a second for that, so thank you for your input regardless, but we don't have a second, so I'm going to move on at this time. All right, yes sir, did you want to speak?

Yeah, Madam Chair, thank you so much. First and foremost, thank you to everybody that was involved, your office, Madam Chair, yourself, Mr. Harvey, certainly Mr. Villalobos. been in the middle of these, and they can go different ways. This one went exceptionally well. I want to thank Mr. Villalobos for two things. Number one is recognizing the financial context that we're in as an organization and developing parameters, which I think, as Madam Chair said, are fair based on the scope and scale of the job, but also fair in light of the circumstances that we in as a district. So thank you very much. Secondly, further to your good faith, I mentioned that in an event that we were at that there's such thing as hitting the ground running and then there's running before you hit the ground and somehow you've managed to do that in good faith and just getting out there and letting everybody know who you are, not what you're doing, what you're gonna be doing, just who you are as a person and I really appreciate that because that's part of the conversation that we've all been leading as a board to just get to know our next superintendent. So I appreciate that and I look forward to supporting this contract.

Thank you very much, sir. All right. Is that everyone? Okay, then I will now call on the board on a vote.

Second.

Do I have a second? All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed nay? Seeing none, motion passes. So congratulations to Mr. Villalobos, our new superintendent, incoming superintendent of schools as of the date that has been identified on the contract, which you all have. And so at this time, I would like to ask Mr. Villalobos if he would like to say some words to the board and to the public. And again, congratulations to you. And you now are recognized. You have the floor.

Madam Chair, Madam Vice Chair, school board members, I want to first take a moment to thank God for this incredible journey that I have been on since I was a young man. And it has been amazing to touch the lives of so many, so many children and families and communities alike. But before we get to that, I want to also take a moment to thank my family, because throughout that journey and the hard work that's taken place, they have been at my side and have supported me, particularly my wife, who has been there along the way, every way. And then I'd also like to take a moment to thank both of my attorneys, Robert Fernandez and, of course, Theo Pepe Villalobos, for their support through this process. And just a thank you to every single one of you, to the listening public, to everyone that I am going to also represent. that I am going to work with to make sure that Miami-Dade County Public Schools continues to be the beacon of this community, the lighthouse that people can look at and know that Miami-Dade County Public Schools continues to build amazing, amazing individuals that are gonna go into our communities and lead this community and continue to build upon the greatness that the city of Miami and Miami-Dade County is. And with that said, it gives me great honor great honor to do this work because again, as I've said before, this is not work for me, this is a calling and this is important because every single one of our children deserves a better tomorrow and we offer that dream of a better tomorrow. So with that said, I just wanna thank you for this opportunity, for entrusting in me, and looking forward to get the work started. As Mr. Espino said, we've been running, sir, and we're doing the great work. So thank you very much to everyone and everyone's belief in me and their support of me, because I know that we are going to continue to do amazing work as Dr. Adortrez leaves us in good hands as well. I know that we will continue that work and we will elevate Miami-Dade County Public Schools to the next level as well. So thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Villalobos. And again, congratulations. And the countless numbers of hours that we have put into this endeavor are well worth it. So we are very proud of you, and again, not only did you start the work, but you're gonna continue to hit the ground running 24 hours a day, every day, including weekends. So get ready, enjoy this weekend, and get ready, because that's what the job of a superintendent of the third largest school district does, as it has been done by our current superintendent, Dr. Jose L. Dodris. So at this time, I need a motion to move agenda item SP2 to the floor. Is there a second? All in favor, aye. Any opposed, nay. Seeing none, motion passes. SP2 is the matters related to the comprehensive integrity-based selection and appointment process for the next superintendent of schools. Number one, review and consider approval of the execution of the proposed negotiated separation agreement for the current superintendent of schools. Number two, establish and classify contracted positions of senior transitional advisor to the superintendent. Number three, approve the job description of the contracted position of the senior transitional advisor to the superintendent. The action proposed is to take appropriate action to approve and authorize the execution of the proposed terms and conditions of the negotiated separation agreement for the current superintendent of schools, Dr. Jose L. Dutris, and authorize the school board chair to execute said separation agreement. Number two, pursuant to school board policy 1120, establish and classify the position of senior transitional advisor to the superintendent and appoint Dr. Jose L. Dutris in accordance with the salary and benefits identified in the superintendent's separation agreement from September 2nd, 2026 to October 11th, 2026. And number three, approve the job description of the position of senior transitional advisor to the superintendent. I am now going to first call on any speakers that we have. I don't see any identified at this time, so I'm going to ask Madam Secretary, do we have any speakers?

Through the chair, Madam Chair? No.

Thank you very much. So therefore, at this time, I am going to also make a few more statements. First, I want to make sure that my colleagues on the board are aware of the fact that we have been working on this separation agreement continuously day and night. throughout the whole process since I was apprised that this was something that we would be considering. So thank you, Dr. Dodre's weekends. We have been working tirelessly on trying to make sure that we had SP2 together with all the supporting documents and attachments and everything. My goal was to have it ready for you on Friday. But as you know, these negotiations are often very complex and the process has taken a little bit longer than anticipated. However, we were able to finalize that yesterday. So I'm happy that we were able to get it ready for you for today's meeting. And again, we will, follow up accordingly in the same manner now as we did with the SP1. So, Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Jose L. Doltrez, reached out to me to initiate the process of negotiating a separation agreement as he intends to officially retire effective October 11th, 2026. Upon receiving this request, we immediately began the negotiation process with the superintendent's attorney and also with our general counsel, Mr. Harvey. The negotiations have involved productive, substantive, and at times, some challenging discussions. Throughout the process, all parties remain focused on reaching an agreement that was fair, responsible, and in the best interest of our school district. Considerable time and effort was devoted to carefully reviewing the terms, addressing the interests and concerns of all parties involved, and ensuring that the agreement was thoroughly considered from both a legal as well as a financial perspective. This process required many hours of meetings, discussions, review, and negotiations to bring the matter to the point where a separation agreement could be presented to the board for its consideration today. Again, I appreciate the commitment and the professionalism demonstrated by everyone involved in working through the details and moving this process forward. The negotiated terms and conditions of the proposed separation agreement for Dr. Jose Doltres are consistent in many respects with the separation agreements previously approved by the board for former Miami-Dade County public school superintendents. In addition, provisions reflecting those prior agreements, the proposed agreement includes additional language and terms that were specifically reviewed, discussed, negotiated, and mutually agreed upon by both parties. These provisions are the result of a collaborative negotiation process and also reflect the respective interests and considerations, again, of all parties involved. Under the proposed separation agreement, if approved by the board, Dr. Dotris' final day serving as superintendent of schools will be September 1st, 2026. Effective September 2nd, 2026, Mr. Villalobos will then assume the duties and responsibilities of superintendent of schools. From September 2nd through October 11th, 2026, Dr. Dodris will serve in the role of senior transitional advisor to the superintendent. A copy of the proposed job description for this transitional role has been provided to the board. This transitional period is intended to provide an orderly and also effective transfer of leadership while ensuring continuity, stability, and operational effectiveness. and this would be throughout the entire transition period. As previously discussed by the board, during this transition, Dr. Doltris will be available in an advisory capacity during this period to help facilitate the transfer of the institutional knowledge, the support to the incoming superintendent, and minimize disruptions to the district's ongoing operations and priorities. As stated in SB2, Dr. Dutris has once again placed the interests of Miami-Dade County Public Schools first by seeking an orderly transition that will provide that continuity and that stability that is so greatly needed. As the board considers the superintendent's request and the terms of the potential separation agreement, It is important to recognize and also to acknowledge the extraordinary service that Dr. Dutris has provided to this district and to our entire community. His planned retirement marks the conclusion of decades of public service and tremendous leadership, and the board is committed to ensuring that this transition is handled thoroughly, professionally, and also in the best interest of Miami-Dade County Public Schools and the students and families it serves. Thank you, Dr. Dodris, for a lifetime of dedicated commitment and service, not only here to the students of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, but to the students in Broward and to the students and workforce in all of these in Collier County. Your work has been noticed and appreciated by so many educators throughout the state of Florida. So we thank you for, again, a job well done, and wish that you have many wonderful new doors that will open up in your direction in the near future and that much success will continue to go your way. So before I proceed to open to my colleagues, I do want to take an opportunity to thank also not just you, Dr. Doltris. Again, we've had a lot of discussions, a lot of time awake, a lot of weekends on that phone back and forth with you and your attorneys. And I do want to thank the attorney that has represented you, has worked tirelessly, truly tirelessly so that we could get to the point where we are today. And I'd be remiss if I did not recognize our very own general counsel, Mr. Harvey, sir, Thank you for the attention that you have provided, the guidance, the many phone calls from me to you, and all of the negotiations that we have been engaged in throughout this entire process. I'd be remiss if I did not publicly thank you for, again, your professionalism and your dedication to Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and to this process. So at this time, I am going to just simply open up to my colleagues on the board, and I see that I have Board Member Alonso, who would like to be the first one to speak. Go ahead, sir.

Thank you so much, Madam Chair, and thank you for running such a transparent and smooth process together with this board. I think this is a historic moment where we're truly showing our community how this board has always put our students, our families, and our administrators and teachers always first, And we made a commitment since the beginning that this was gonna be a process of transition, and that we wanted to do that in an effort to continuously move forward in a positive direction as we've had, but also knowing that change was coming. There was a time in which Dr. Dorchess was gonna come to his retirement, and this board was very responsible in taking that challenge on during the summer. When many thought we were on vacation, we worked very hard through the summer months in a very open and transparent process. that has allowed the community to see how it is that a board works in bringing in new leadership. But it's important that we do it in a way in which transition is a key element of it because we never want to disrupt the work that is happening in our schools. And in many districts and in many organizations, sometimes you see a lot of disruption when a transition is occurring. And that's why since the very beginning of this process, I've been very vocal in stating how important I felt that it needed to be a transitionary phase in which our superintendent would have the opportunity to be there and support the new superintendent coming into the district. We're blessed to have a superintendent that's coming into our district that understands our district, is from within, but it's still always a little bit challenging when you come into an office, and I always see it quite odd when we see a lot of our principals be transferred from school to school, right? And the minute they show up, the other principal's walking out, and it's kind of the good luck, Here's your book, here are the keys, and I have a new responsibility. We're gonna do it differently here at the school board, and I'm really proud of this agreement, this separation agreement. And I wanna thank Mr. Harvey, because I spent some time back and forth with him on the phone, and really, deep diving into what would be fair, not just to our superintendent, but to this community, because as board member Espino said earlier regarding Mr. Villalobos' contract, we're facing some very difficult times financially as a district, and we need to be good stewards of our taxpayer dollars that are always at the forefront of what we do because those dollars need to be invested in our students and in our schools. So I just wanted to thank you and Mr. Harvey for the work that you've done. I did have some questions that Mr. Harvey did answer for me ahead of time and felt comfortable with where we're at here, but I'm also open to hearing from the rest of our board on how they feel about the separation, but I want to thank Dr. Dorchess and Mr. Villalobos for their commitment to work together and to do this transition in a way that we're always putting our students first. So thank you, Madam Chair, for all your hard work throughout this process, for all those long nights and those weekends, and I'm really looking forward to continuing to run as Mr. Villalobos has already been doing because our students deserve it, thank you.

Thank you very much, sir. All right, I have Board Member Espino.

Thank you, Madam Chair. First of all, like I did in the last one, I want to thank all the parties involved in it. This is a lot of negotiating in a short amount of time after Dr. Doltris made his decision. And so I also want to thank Mr. Harvey. We've had weekend conversations, late night conversations, early morning conversations, and I appreciate the diligence. Dr. Doltris, I want to thank you for your service. and your commitment to Miami-Dade County Public Schools over the course of your career. You lead with your heart. That's always been, I think, your strongest attribute. And I want to thank you for facilitating this transition. You're a gentleman. You really are. You really are. And it shows between the way you carry yourself and the way you facilitate this transition that you care about the organization. And I hope it's evident to the public that we all share that with you. FOR MYSELF I MADE A COMMITMENT IN A COMMITTEE MEETING AND THEN LATER ON TO YOU INDIVIDUALLY THAT WHENEVER YOU MADE THIS CHOICE IT WAS TO HONOR THE VALUE OF YOUR CONTRACT. I WANT TO SAY THAT I THINK WE'RE DOING THAT BUT I ALSO WANT TO THANK YOU FOR, THANK MR. VILLALOBOS FOR DOING THIS AND THE CONCLUSIONS YOU REACHED ON SOME OF THE SETTLING POINTS CONSIDERING THE FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS THAT THERE ARE. THIS IS FAIR, THIS HONORS VALUE OF THE CONTRACT AS I MENTIONED BEFORE AND IT It offers Mr. Villalobos an opportunity that you yourself didn't have, that kind of baton passing, which is more like a baton toss to you, we'll say. So thank you for being a gentleman. Thank you.

Thank you very much, sir. Board Member Blanco, ma'am.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Like my other board members, I want to thank all of those involved because I recognize all the work that has to be put into all of this. So thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you to our board attorney. I'll be honest, I would have loved to have seen the separation agreement come sooner, but I understand, right? It was a short amount of time to negotiate. And I did have a lot of questions, and I want to thank Mr. Harvey for the long conversations that we had, and he answered my questions. At the end of the day, my questions, the purpose of my questions was to ensure that we were doing what is best for this district from a fiscal standpoint and being financial stewards. And Mr. Harvey assured me of that on the phone, but I want to double down and thank you for the financial summary that you presented to us as we approach the day is because this is really showing that we have absolutely done what is in the best interest of our district. Dr. Dotris, I want to echo some of the sentiments that that Board Member Espino said, the word that I wrote down that came to mind is I think you coming forward with the separation agreement, looking at the separation agreement that we have is a testament to your character. It is absolutely a sign of the heart that you do have. I think that was evident day one when I came on the board, and I think in many ways we shared some of that same thoughts. And I will be the first one to say, I know I was very vocal about the transition happening once the conversations began, sooner rather than later, but I assured you, and I still want to assure you and everyone, and we had conversations, nothing to do with you as a superintendent. it was about the position we were in in this district, things happening outside of our control that have put the district where we are now, and that was my focus in the transition. So I want to put that for the record, and again, I want to thank you again for the character that you showed in moving forward through this process. Thank you.

Thank you very much. And now, Board Member Geller, sir.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and good morning to you and to my colleagues and everyone else assembled. So first I want to just congratulate the board for how quickly you moved through SB1. I got to say I was pleased but a little surprised. I do ask, Madam Chair, that our Secretary of the Board, record me as a vote in favor of SB1. Yes, thank you. And I wanna also extend my congratulations to Mr. Villalobos as we finalize the arrangements to have him be, now we can say officially, our next superintendent, and I'm looking forward to working with you. I want to join in the congratulations of his learned counsel seated next to him, the two eminent legal minds that are there. Congratulations on helping us get that done. And again, of course, always, as is always the case since I've joined this board, our general counsel, has again done extraordinary work in getting that done and also in the item that we're on so i want to just say a couple of things um i i know in a lot of ways i'm looking forward to this november because i finally won't be the newbie on the board somebody is going to come that has less experience here than me and i can't wait um that said um This is a challenging time for this school district. And I want to agree with my colleague, Board Member Blanco, largely because of circumstances beyond our control, both from Tallahassee, as my dear sister knows, you never know what you can expect to come your way from Tallahassee. They had an old saying in the old days, a little bit, I have to say, the language is a little outdated in terms of being sexist, but they used to say, neither man nor dog is safe when the Florida legislature is in session. Boy, that's truer than ever. And in this case, a lot coming from Washington. As somebody who did join the board recently, and I know some of you, We're here when the gentleman, and I use that word advisedly, to my right, became the superintendent. You already had long experience on this board or in this system, but I'm not there. And when I joined this board, the degree to which Dr. Dotris became a friend as well as a colleague and the degree to which he welcomed me and helped me to figure out how to do the job that I was up here to do and and worked with me on so many issues that related to the well-being of this district was frankly extraordinary and I have to add to what's been said that you have my admiration, my respect, and my friendship, and everything you've done, not only as superintendent for the good of this community, but through this transition process, up to and including the item we're on now, has been, in my opinion, really exemplary. And... I thank you. I thank you not just personally, but on behalf of the board and the district and our entire Miami-Dade community for making a difference. And I could not find enough strong, supportive, and warm words to say about you, Dr. Jose. So, you know, Mr. Villalobos, they're big shoes to fill. but i will tell you that i have absolute full confidence that you're up to this task that you're ready to go as we face i'm less concerned with the transition process because between our chair and our council and all of my colleagues, I think we've done a great job. I mean, I don't want to be self-congratulatory, but we've managed very difficult process I think openly and honestly and under the pressure of circumstances and again I especially want to single out as others have our general counsel for being there at every step of this process and guiding it and at the same time delivering these two really remarkable agreements to us on such short notice. Each of these could have taken a month to do and you did them days each. So I thank you very much for that, Mr. Harvey. I just have to say, I dislike sports metaphors generally in public affairs because this isn't a game. I mean, there are real world consequences to what we do, and it affects so many of our children and our employees and the community at large. But I'll make an exception for a sports metaphor this time. We have a difficult task ahead of us, Mr. Villalobos. Like a basketball team, a team, a sport I don't much follow and can't play for anything, I might add. But as we wind down to, you know, the final seconds of some of these challenges and uppermost in my mind is this upcoming referendum. Like the guy out on that basketball court who is driving the team You didn't try to play it safe. You didn't try to hang back. You didn't look for anybody else. As they say in that sport, you wanted the ball. You wanted to be the one to make that last most important final shot, you wanted the ball in your hands. So using that metaphor, I congratulate you for that. I admire that. And I know that you begin your tenure, as I said, with my full confidence that you're going to be great. I think you're going to follow greatness. And I think you're going to build on it and achieve your own. So I think that's all I have to say. Thank you all.

All right, anyone else?

All right, Vice Chair Calucci. Thank you, Madam Chair, and I want to echo the sentiments of my colleagues. I want to say that I, and I want to thank Mr. Harvey. I was on the phone with him quite extensively, and he put a lot of my questions to rest, and I feel very comfortable with both agreements. I think that they're fair, and I want to thank for his years of service to this district. And also for recognizing that this time, this transition needs to be smoothly and being a gentleman about it as my colleague Mr. Espino said. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for that. It's truly appreciated. And to our incoming superintendent, I know you will do good things, I know you will do great things because you lead with your heart and you know that your loyalties lie with the students of Miami-Dade County Public Schools and that's what's most important in this community. So you have been entrusted with a great task. Dr. Dotris, you have done an outstanding job. Thank you for your service and also for leading with your heart throughout this process. So I want to thank everyone here. I want to thank my colleagues on the board. This was quite a long task, but it was done transparently, it was done professionally, and it was done, I believe, with the best interest of our district at heart. So with that, I feel very comfortable with this separation agreement, and thank you, Madam Chair, for the opportunity to speak.

Thank you. All right, anyone else? Dr. Bendos-Meningo?

Thank you, Madam Chair. It is my honor to make a short speech. And you have one of my favorite people sitting out there with you, Mr. Villalobos, someone who goes way back with me and probably created the word fairness. He knows my community. He knows the people in the community, and he knows how to be fair. So I'm almost sure he passed that on to you. So I'll be looking closely, and I'll report to him when you're not fair. You know who I'm talking about. I got the smiles. So to all of you who played a role in getting us to this point, I've got to thank, first of all, our chair. Thank you. She is one of the ones that I know who had to walk into a place and someone handed her the keys and said, it's yours. She and I, and you too, Mr. Villalobos, we understand that. And that's part of why I'm not anxious at all. about your coming in because you have done the work for children, for parents, and for communities. To the gentleman sitting way, way on the end, as I always tell my Jackson 5 story, when I look to my right and you're not there, I don't know what I'm gonna do, but you're available. How do I know? Because I've called you a lot. Not just for educational reasons, but for reasons that I knew you would lift your voice and help me, and you know what I'm talking about. So to our attorney, I thought I made the most phone calls, but I see I'm way down on the list. But in the meantime, please know that you've got some colleagues up here, not just on the dais, but colleagues who have been in the trenches, Mr. Villalobos. We started out as teachers, and we moved up to, I guess you would say administrators. And of course, for a couple of us on the dais, we went to Tallahassee. We took all we had to Tallahassee because most of all, those of us who went, we have sat in the classrooms and we know what is absolutely necessary to bring our children to the top of the ladder. Third largest school district in the nation. It's no joke, but I know you're ready. When I saw you, Mr. Villalobos at DASA, I remember you coming and you got real close and you said, I want to let you know who I am. And I believe I said to you, I know you. I did my homework, remember I'm a teacher by trade. Please understand everyone, I am not anxious at all about the school system. I know we're gonna do just fine because you've got a team on this dais that will not let you do anything but be great. So we will let everyone know that we are not looking to do an I got you. We have you, we got you, but in a good way. Why? Because we know, thank you so much. Don't push me because you know I might become a bucket of water. I saw that. Please, no. that you've got some people out there also in the fields. And you've got a team down here, you've got an army. And we know what we're doing and we know how to do it. So to you, I extend all the help that I can. And of course, I think I told you that I do make weekend phone calls. I did. So just be prepared. And to everyone who's watching and listening, Madam Chair, we got this. We will never let go. We know what we're doing. So to you, Mr. Villalobos, Godspeed. Come in. Let us know. And as our chair always says, you're going to knock it off the park. God bless you. See you on the journey.

Thank you very much, ma'am. I do have, I believe Board Member Santos, would you like to say something before I speak again, ma'am?

No, thank you, ma'am. But yes, I'm here. But I'll just give my two cents. I know there will be more appropriate times to give flowers and to welcome our new superintendent. So I'm very excited for both and very grateful to Dr. Dotris for all he has done. And we look forward to our next steps.

Thank you so much. So before I take the vote, I would like to take a moment to thank every board member who's here. For the listening public, I would like for you all to know this process started about five months ago. And we have, in the state of Florida, sunshine violations. I cannot speak to my colleagues, but I negotiated every single step of the way with both Mr. Villalobos and Dr. Dutris. And I have to publicly state for the record, there are no other two individuals that are so caring, so dedicated, and so committed to Miami-Dade County Public Schools as the two of them throughout these negotiations. I heard my colleagues' voices as I was negotiating. and they will both tell you I'm pretty vocal when I firmly believe in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, our children, our teachers, our administrators, and our entire workforce, as do my colleagues on the board. And that is why we went through all these months that we have gone through so that there is a transparent process, as my colleagues on the board and myself, we all agreed upon, so that there are no questions from the community. Everything has been done in the public. so that our public could be involved, engaged, give whatever recommendations they wanted. This is why we had a website. This is why we have gone through a very extensive five month period for the selection of the next superintendent of schools. And I am indeed extremely proud of my colleagues on the board because throughout all of this, We may not always have the same opinions. but we always have done it respectfully. And that is something that I will always be very proud of. So thank you to every single board member here because we are the example to the students that we represent and you all have done a superb job in this arena. So I wanted to put that out for the record. At this time, before I take the vote, I just want to state, sir, you had asked to be co-sponsor, I'm sorry, to have an affirmative vote on SP1. I will take you back to that once I finish with SP2. So, I will take the vote on SP2, and I will also give an opportunity for our superintendent of schools, Dr. Jose L. Dotres, who has brought us here to an A status again this year, and this is the seventh year we get it. All the years that you've been superintendent, we have received an A status. Graduation rates, never seen before, at 95%. more choice options than anywhere in this entire country and the list goes on and fiscally we have won the award one more time again in miami-dade county public schools there is a lot that we are very proud of, so thank you, Mr. Superintendent, and again, yes, sir, Mr. Villalobos, you have tough shoes to follow, but we are confident, as you have heard from all of my colleagues on the board, that you will do just an amazing job. So with that said, we'll take the vote and then we will have Dr. Dutris to say some words. I would like a motion.

Motion to approve SB2.

Do I have a second?

You do.

All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed nay? Seeing none, motion passes. Dr. Dutris, sir, before I go back to the other one, he's gonna have an opportunity to speak.

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. So where do I begin? First, to thank you for your incredible work throughout this process. You were very deliberate, very thoughtful, and I really do appreciate it. On a personal level, but also on a professional level, the way that this engagement occurred. Mr. Harvey, at the end, he's acknowledging it by going like this, and Walter, I need to thank you as well. You know what, again, it shows who we are as an organization. Respect, value, and that we have to do what's right for the kids and for the community. So I want to begin by simply saying thank you. Thank you to the board for giving me the opportunity to serve as your superintendent. As a proud product of MBCPS, I will always be grateful to have the opportunity to lead the school district that helped shape my life, starting as a little young boy at the age of five. What is important is that today, this is a transition and it's about the by sustaining and not interrupting the work of serving children in this beautiful community. That's what this is all about. And I am extremely proud of the work that we have done together. Ms. Rojas, thank you for always elaborating on those accomplishments. And there are many, there are many. I feel confident with what's coming next. I'm proud to see Ralph, Mr. Villalobos, stepping in and watching his next step in his incredible journey, that just like me, were products of this amazing school district. Ralph has a very special place in my own journey, because I have to say it again, right? When I entered here, Ralph was Mr. Villalobos, was the first region superintendent that I appointed. And I did it because I saw a vision, a vision what he could bring to the table to a very large region that he has led. So today represents a rare moment, I think Mr. Alonso said it, a rare moment in the world of superintendencies where transition does not exist. One exits, the other one enters, and that's not the way this is. You have my full commitment to this transition, and I know that Mr. Villalobos and I will work very closely together so that there is a seamless process in what will happen next. I'm proud of the way we're doing this, And this role of mine has been the honor and privilege of my entire life. And so I'm glad that we're doing this way. My wife is here today, and Maribel, like I always say, could never do it without her. Never do it without her, but I'm in a really good place, ready to support throughout this transition. And again, I want to thank you, Madam Chair, because it has been an honor for me for you to have been the chair that I've worked with year after year. You've done an amazing job, you've been incredibly supportive, and what I tell Mr. Villalobos is that you're gonna have a team here. We are all a team, and Madam Chair, you've been tough sometimes, you've been strong, but you always do it with a conviction of what's best for children, what's best for our employees. Thank you. And I wanna thank our entire workforce for what we have been able to do together. The amazing teachers that we have, the school leaders that we have. It happens in the field. Every single employee, I wanna thank the parents, the amazing community members that we have that are so giving and uplift our school district. And to our beautiful children, our amazing students, that their effort, their commitment, and all the choices that we're providing time and time again, they rise to the occasion. Thank you again, and again, it's an honor and pleasure, and I look forward to a very successful transition with this amazing man that will now lead MDCPS. Sometimes they say the third largest school district, but I know he and I, we feel like it's a small family. So congratulations, Mr. Villalobos, thank you board members, thank you very much.

Thank you very much, sir. And remember, the legacy that you leave us will live on for many, many, many, many years to come. And again, wishing you so much success in the future. Godspeed. and one door an amazing door that you've been part of all these years closest but another great one will open very soon for you we know you are very talented and um we haven't heard the last of dr jose el dotres we know that there's going to be a lot of great things coming your way So congratulations for the years that you have proudly led Miami-Dade County Public Schools as successfully as you have, thank you. And with that said, I have two issues that I have to deal with. One, before I go to the request from Board Member Geller, I also want to know, Mr. Harvey, sir, We have a board member, now all the board members have voted, and so therefore I need to know, do I need to take a special vote for the starting date, which would be for Mr. Villalobos' starting date, since now we know the closing date for our current superintendent, sir? I need your guidance on that. So it would be September 2nd, if that's appropriate, sir?

Yes, through the chair. The contract says September 12th, unless the position becomes vacant.

But he's going to be in transition until October 11th, as we discussed. But I am asking, do I need to take...

I don't, okay. It's not necessary.

All right, great, then we will not take a vote. So then the next thing is the request that has been made, so I need a motion to reconsider SP1 so that we can have Board Member Geller who wants to be part of the affirmative vote here. Do I have a second? All in favor, say aye. Any opposed, nay. Seeing none, then the motion for the affirmative vote for, okay. Do I have a second? All in favor, say aye. Any opposed? Seeing none, and Board Member Geller, so glad that I heard that aye loud and clear. You are there on the affirmative vote, thank you. Thank you. With all the business that was necessary to be conducted this morning, we no longer have anything else to discuss. Congratulations to both Dr. Doudras and Mr. Villalobos. And with that, I will adjourn this meeting at this time.