Miami-Dade County's school superintendent search is down to two finalists after a July 21 School Board vote, moving the nation's third-largest district toward a leadership decision before the new school year.
The finalists are Ernie Lozano, Broward County Public Schools' chief human resources officer, and Rafael Villalobos, Miami-Dade County Public Schools' South Region superintendent, according to WSVN and Miami Herald coverage of the meeting. One of them is expected to replace Superintendent Jose Dotres, whose contract runs into February 2027.
The vote matters beyond a personnel change. The next superintendent will inherit a district dealing with fewer students, budget pressure and a November property-tax referendum tied to teacher pay.
What changed
School Board members narrowed the field from the six semifinalists who had advanced earlier in July. The semifinalist list included district insiders, a Broward administrator and candidates with charter-school or state education backgrounds, according to earlier local reporting on the search.
Lozano's selection keeps a neighboring-district administrator in the race. Villalobos' selection keeps an internal Miami-Dade regional leader in position for the top job. That sets up a choice between outside human-resources experience and continuity from inside the district's current leadership structure.
Why families should care
The superintendent controls day-to-day district operations, recommends major personnel actions and shapes how board policy becomes school-level practice. For parents and teachers, the appointment can affect school consolidation plans, staffing priorities, regional support and how quickly the district responds to campus problems.
The timing is tight. Biscayne Bay Beacon reported that background checks on semifinalists were due by July 17, finalists were scheduled for selection at the July 21 special meeting, and the search timeline aimed for an Aug. 13 superintendent selection.
The next chief will also face difficult numbers. The same local report said Miami-Dade enrolled about 323,300 students in the 2025-26 school year, down by roughly 12,100 from the year before, and had a $7.4 billion budget that was about $100 million smaller than the prior year.
A separate pay question is coming to voters. The district has warned that a November referendum helps fund teacher salaries, meaning the new superintendent may have to start with both a political campaign season and a budget contingency plan already on the calendar.
What happens next
Families should watch for the final interview and vote schedule, any public-comment window, and board members' stated reasons for favoring either finalist. The most practical question is not only who wins, but what first-year plan the winner offers for enrollment, teacher pay, school consolidation and neighborhood communication.
Until the board votes, the superintendent search remains a live local story with direct consequences for Miami-Dade students, employees and taxpayers.
