The Miami-Dade County School Board has reluctantly approved a contentious plan to allow a major New York-based charter school network, Success Academy, to establish operations inside five of the district’s public high schools. The decision, which passed with a supermajority last Wednesday, came after hours of heated debate where board members expressed frustration over the short notice they were given to review the significant proposal.
Despite their objections to the rushed process, the board felt compelled to act. The agreement had been under negotiation between the superintendent and Success Academy for six months, and a failure to vote could have sent the decision to a special magistrate, effectively removing it from the board’s control. This pressure left many members feeling as though their hands were tied.
“We're required to make a vote with a gun to our head,” said board member Danny Espino during the meeting. “I don't like feeling like that. and I don't think that it's lost on us that we are negotiating from a weakened position.”
The ‘Schools of Hope’ program
Success Academy’s expansion into Miami-Dade is facilitated by the state’s “Schools of Hope” program. Established by Florida lawmakers in 2017, the program was designed to encourage the growth of charter schools in areas with historically underperforming traditional public schools, thereby giving families more educational options. These publicly funded but privately managed schools have been a source of ongoing debate in the state. A recent amendment to the law now permits these “Schools of Hope” to co-locate within existing public school facilities that have vacant or underutilized space. This policy is championed by many Republicans as a victory for school choice and parental rights. However, Democrats and public education advocates often warn that it siphons critical funding away from traditional school districts, potentially weakening the entire public education system. The Miami-Dade board’s decision brings this statewide debate directly into the local community, similar to issues that have surfaced in other districts where parents debate the role of sports in admissions.
The district and its board members, regardless of their political leanings, were united in their frustration over the timeline. They reported receiving the detailed proposal just one day before the scheduled vote, leaving insufficient time to analyze its long-term consequences for the district and its students.
Five locations and financial burdens
The agreement, backed by a $50 million donation from billionaire Ken Griffin, the founder and CEO of Citadel, will place Success Academy programs in five specific locations: Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High, Homestead Senior High, Miami Jackson Senior High, North Miami Senior High, and Westland Hialeah Senior High schools.
The contract is for an initial one-year term, which some board members saw as a crucial off-ramp, allowing for reassessment when it comes up for renewal. Under the plan, Success Academy will begin renovations in June of this year to prepare for opening its doors to kindergarten and first-grade students in August 2027.
The financial ramifications for Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) are substantial. The district receives state funding based on student enrollment; with a projected enrollment of 4,200 students at these five charter locations, M-DCPS faces a significant potential loss of revenue. This is particularly concerning as the district is already grappling with the effects of declining enrollment.
Furthermore, under the terms of the agreement, M-DCPS remains responsible for paying for maintenance, utilities, custodial services, transportation, and security for the shared campuses. To offset these expenditures, Success Academy will pay the district an annual fee of $700 per student. However, the school board’s own agenda documents bluntly state that this amount is “insufficient to cover all proportional costs the District will incur.”
A ‘complex journey’ with local concerns
Superintendent Jose Dotres absorbed much of the board’s criticism, particularly after revealing the six-month negotiation period. “This is our first time dealing with co-location,” Dotres said. “We had never entered into this world and so it's been a complex and difficult journey.” He explained that the administration had successfully negotiated the number of schools down from an initial seven proposed by the academy, in an effort to retain “as much control as possible.”
We are honored to partner with Miami-Dade to ensure that every child. especially those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. has access to an exceptional public education. We look forward to continued engagement with Board members and the District as we work together to deliver for Miami's very deserving communities.
Board member Luisa Santos, whose district includes Homestead Senior High, raised concerns about the impact on the school’s most vulnerable students. “The reality would be that you're doubling and tripling up some of those highest need students into environments that frankly will become very chaotic,” Santos said, worried about the co-location’s effect on students with disabilities.
Students also voiced their opposition. Sebastian Santiago, the Student Government Association president at Westland Hialeah Senior High, called the plan “unrealistic” and worried about the logistics of elementary and high school students sharing hallways and cafeterias. “I'm a registered Republican, I 100% believe charter schools have the right to exist,” he told the board. “However, as a student of Miami Dade County Public Schools, I believe, like my fellow Wildcats here, [Success Academy] is in no place to take our classrooms and spaces.”
Success Academy’s track record
Founded in New York City in 2006, Success Academy now operates nearly 60 schools serving 22,000 students, the majority of whom come from low-income families. The network promotes its success by highlighting that 100% of its graduates have been accepted to four-year colleges, with many being the first in their families to do so. For more information, parents can read about topics like the role of extracurriculars in college admissions.
CEO Eva Moskowitz has stated her ambition to enroll between 8,000 and 10,000 students in Miami-Dade within the next five years, with an eye toward further expansion across Florida. With the board’s approval secured, the district and five of its communities now face a new educational landscape, the full impact of which will unfold in the years to come.
