What's the rush?

It's the first item on the Miami-Dade School Board's agenda Wednesday. Board members will be asked to vote to ratify a contract with Associate Superintendent Alberto Carvalho to serve as the new schools superintendent.

Carvalho was offered the job on the same day the majority of the board approved buying out Rudy Crew's contract for $368,000. Just two hours after last Wednesday's vote to oust Crew, in fact.

Names were tossed out by board members for an interim chief, votes were taken in a chaotic fashion -- one candidate on a short list seemed to be included because he was in the room.

QUALIFICATIONS?

But never did the board decide what qualities they want in a new superintendent, what his or her vision would be to set right a system that's facing millions of dollars in cuts and a spotty success record. In August, the board approved Marta Pérez's request for a committee that would do just that. Why didn't that happen? There was no formal process, and that should not have happened.

Vice Chairwoman Perla Tabares Hantman told me Tuesday that the agenda item she had on the budget to look into ''transparent decision-making'' morphed last Wednesday into an appointment for a new super out of necessity. She was concerned that without an interim chief named by last Friday, when Crew was leaving, the state might have to step in to appoint a successor until the board could conduct its own search.

And it wasn't the first time the board had picked an insider who members already knew, she noted. Roger Cuevas, who had been in the school system 27 years, was tapped in 1996 by the board without a search, national or otherwise, to replace Octavio Visiedo.

Hantman was the new kid on the board at the time and leaned toward a national search. This time, she looked to a rising star in the district, one who after 18 years here gets along well with the different community factions.

''Alberto knows the board, the community and the school system,'' she said. ``He knows about the budget. If anybody can unite the board it's Alberto this time.''

Carvalho, who had been offered the superintendent's job in Pinellas County, had the upper hand in the public negotiations. He wanted the post -- not as interim but the Full Monty. He told the board he would decide by Friday.

SEEKING CLOSURE

After the ugly exchanges between some board members and Crew recently, it's understandable that everyone would want closure, to move on, to focus on the education of our children.

Maybe it's the way of the tropics -- we run fast and hard. But selecting the chief of the nation's fourth largest school district shouldn't be a forced, rushed affair.

Carvalho's good record has been mired in controversy about e-mails that appear to come from a former Herald reporter -- he has ordered an investigation and says it's much ado about nothing. But shouldn't such a probe be done by an independent investigator, not one who would answer to him?

What's the rush?

The board is in no mood for a national search -- not after the Crew fiasco. But as much as Crew was viewed as an outsider who elbowed his way to the top and surrounded himself with mostly outsiders, Carvalho's selection feels too much like insider trading.

This is no time for the board to rush into a new arrangement. Carvalho may well be the best superintendent for Miami-Dade County schools. But he should have a public vetting that's worthy of the nation's fourth-largest school district.

Join the discussion

Note: If this is your first time using our NEW commenting system, you will have to LOG OUT and then LOG BACK IN.

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.CommentBody@

@Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@