The Miami-Dade School Board voted at a special meeting Tuesday, July 21, to advance Rafael Villalobos and Ernie Lozano as the two finalists to lead the nation's third-largest school district. The decision directly affects families in Board Chair Mari Tere Rojas' District 6, which includes MAST Academy on Virginia Key, Key Biscayne K-8 Center and George Washington Carver Middle School.
Villalobos is the district's South Region superintendent. Lozano is Broward County Public Schools' chief human resources officer. Both are South Florida natives, according to WLRN, which first reported the vote.
Rojas backed both finalists
Rojas named both Villalobos and Lozano among her three semifinalist picks, along with Jose Bueno, Superintendent Jose Dotres' chief of staff. She conducted telephone interviews with five candidates before making her selections, according to a memo filed with the district's general counsel.
Her district includes Key Biscayne, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, South Miami and parts of the city of Miami.
Search narrowed from 21 applicants
The search began with 21 applicants and was narrowed to six semifinalists before Tuesday's vote. Villalobos was the only candidate selected by all eight active board members at the semifinalist stage, according to the Miami Herald. Lozano drew support from three members: Rojas, District 3's Joe Geller and Vice Chair Monica Colucci of District 8.
The District 1 seat, which represents North Dade, remains vacant after former board member Steve Gallon joined the Miami-Dade County Commission.
In a July 20 memo explaining his selections, Geller wrote that "familiarity with South Florida is a major plus factor for doing the job of Superintendent."
District 9 member Luisa Santos, who selected Villalobos but not Lozano as a semifinalist, wrote in her own July 20 memo that she wished the candidate pool included more diversity of experience, including qualified women leaders and candidates from outside Florida.
Board aims to name superintendent in August
The board's outside search firm has set Thursday, Aug. 13, as the target date for selecting the new superintendent, according to Miami Herald reporting. The firm's published timeline calls for public interviews before then, though Miami-Dade County Public Schools has not announced specific dates or locations.
The new superintendent will replace Dotres, whose contract runs through Feb. 14, 2027. He was hired in January 2022 following Alberto Carvalho's departure.
Santos' concerns about the lack of diversity in the candidate pool now extend to the final two candidates, both men with deep roots in Florida. If the board meets its Aug. 13 target, members will have roughly three weeks to conduct public interviews, gather community input and vote on the district's next superintendent.
