The Miami Herald

Posted on Tue, Jan. 25, 2006

When silence hurts rather than helps

OUR OPINION:
SCHOOL BOARD SHOULD GIVE ADVICE ON UDB EXPANSION

Miami-Dade School Board member Evelyn Greer asked her colleagues last week to advise the County Commission on the impact that expanding the Urban Development Boundary would have on the school district's service area. With the exception of Ana Rivas Logan, board members offered poor excuses for rejecting this eminently sensible idea.

Their refusal leaves the impression that the board majority may be more concerned about offending developers than in keeping faith with the district's five-year building plan and the district's future budgetary health. If the commission expands the UDB to allow new subdivisions, the district will see classrooms in the west and south areas of the county become more crowded. The issue isn't just one of building schools to meet demand but also of operating them. Currently, 85 percent of the district's revenue is spent on salaries, not bricks and mortar. More students means more teachers, aides, etc.

One excuse was that the School Board shouldn't be in the business of telling the County Commission what to do, lest commissioners will turn the tables. That's nonsense. The board's and the commission's interlocal agreement on impact fees for new development explicitly requires the board to tell the county what impact proposed projects will have on schools.

Some board members said they wanted more information from staff before considering the proposal. They have access to plenty of information on projected enrollment, school capacity and shifting demographics that are emptying some east-side schools and packing them in the west and south, where developers want to expand the UDB.

Simply put, the School Board is supposed to act in the best interests of the school district. By refusing to support Ms. Greer's helpful proposal, seven members dropped the ball in fulfilling their responsibility to students, parents, the school district and South Florida residents.