MIAMI (WSVN) - Miami-Dade County Public Schools has a new superintendent.
It’s a homecoming of sorts for Dr. Jose Dotres.
He worked at the district for more than 30 years and will now hold the position of superintendent.
In a 6-3 vote, school board members appointed Dotres as the next superintendent of M-DCPS on Monday.
It’s the school district that shaped the man he is today.
“The fact that I have the opportunity to come back to this community, to this school district where I grew up as a child and worked professionally for so many years, with so many teachers and so many school district leaders,” said Dotres.
He is not only a product of M-DCPS, but he worked for the district for more than three decades as an educator at all levels.
From teacher to principal, to now chief of staff for outgoing Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.
Most recently, he served as Deputy Superintendent for Collier County.
While his appointment was celebrated Monday, there are some expectations that come with the new role.
“I strongly feel that the next superintendent of schools should live in our community, and I hope that’s something all of us can support and ask him. He’s a very reasonable person,” said school board member Dr. Lubby Navarro.
Some school board members want to include in the contract that the new superintendent should live in Miami-Dade County.
Dotres currently lives in Broward County.
“If I have to reconsider something later on, it’ll happen later in the process, but right now I believe I was very clear with where I reside, my children, my family, so that’s as much as I can communicate at this point,” he said.
The terms and conditions of his contract will be discussed at a meeting on Feb. 2.
For now, the congratulatory messages and well wishes are pouring in.
United Teachers of Dade said Dotres scored an “A” grade.
“Throughout his career, he’s focused on school improvement, on leadership development, on academics and he has been labor-friendly,” said Karla Hernandez-Mats, of the United Teachers of Dade. “We have sat across the table with him. We’ve worked things out, and so we understand that not only does he care about the students, but the entire community. We’re happy that the decision was made last night, and we look forward to a productive, amicable and, of course, a candid relationship with our next superintendent.”
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava tweeted her support, calling Dotres an “excellent choice” and that “she’s excited to work alongside him to ensure our community is ready to seize the future.”
Carvalho’s last day at M-DCPS is Feb 3.
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