Newly appointed Miami-Dade County Schools Superintendent Rafael Villalobos has temporarily paused the process of selecting schools for closure, giving families worried about potential closures a reprieve.
The district has lost approximately 15,000 students this school year. Officials attribute the decline to a combination of lower birth rates, private school vouchers, and families relocating due to the high cost of living or immigration enforcement.
One of the schools caught in the uncertainty is Paul L. Dunbar K-8 Academy in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood. The school had been placed on a “reassessed” list, a label that has historically preceded closures…