Candidates selected show a proven track record of public education advocacy and keen past experience
United Teachers of Dade (UTD), the largest teacher’s union in the southeastern United States, publicly announced that it will support the candidacies of Dr. Steve Gallon III for district 1, Russell Rywell for district 3, Mara Zapata for district 5, Lubby Navarro for district 7, and Dr. Nancy Lawther for district 9 for Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) school board seats.
“UTD’s mission is to advocate for Miami-Dade education professionals and the well-being of our students. Selecting school board representatives who will work to preserve the integrity of public education and who will fight against the attack on our neighborhood schools from Tallahassee is critical to that mission,” said UTD President Karla Hernández-Mats. “The candidates we have chosen have demonstrated a commitment to public education advocacy and possess experiences that uniquely position them to protect the best interests of M-DCPS and its educators, staff, and students. We are proud to support their candidacy and look forward to working with them in the future,” she added.
Candidates were chosen by UTD’s legislative committee through months of vetting and a screening process that looked at each candidate’s past work as a public education advocate, previous experience in the field of education, understanding of legislative policy currently threatening public education in Florida, and their overall vision for M-DCPS, its educators, staff and students. Members of the legislative committee voted on endorsements upon completing one-to-one meetings with each of the candidates.
The endorsements come on the heels of what was a tense night for Tallahassee legislators as they continue to battle it out on the floor for proper public-school funding and teacher pay. The House voted to quadruple the amount of vouchers given to private entities over time at the expense of Florida’s public schools, a move that has come under fire after an investigation from the Orlando Sentinel showed the high level of discriminatory policies at private voucher schools, particularly towards the LGBTQ community.
“Traditional public schools currently serve 90% of our children, regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender, disability, religion, or any other factor, while voucher programs barely met their scholarship cap of 18,000 vouchers last year,” Mats said. “The use of public tax dollars to expand this program is not only unjustified, it is a violation of Florida Constitutional law which calls for the right to free and unfettered public education for all. It is high time that people understand that elections matter and who we choose to represent us can and will have long lasting effects on the future of our children, from the school board on up.”
