Five days after announcing the final three candidates, the district held public interview panels for Miami-Dade Chief Academic Officer Marie Izquierdo, former Minnesota Commissioner of Education Dr. Brenda Cassellius and former Randolph Superintendent Dr. Oscar Santos.
“I had concerns with the quickness the candidates were revealed then the process with the public,” said Councilor At-Large Annissa Essaibi-George. She said releasing the names of candidates during school vacation week and then scheduling interviews on the first day of classes made it extremely difficult for families and staff to be involved in the public process.
“The low turnout wasn’t because of a lack of interest to be there or a desire to be included. We wanted to be included,” Essaibi-George said.
Several stakeholders pointed out that the public had no knowledge of who else had interviewed for the job before the final three candidates were named.