MIAMI – Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho spoke to dozens of people at New Birth Baptist Church on Monday, trying to win over support for a $1.2 billion school bond referendum on the November ballot.
"We're talking about replacement, renovations, maintenance and across all schools, technology," said Carvalho.
So far, 280 schools have been earmarked to be replaced or repaired. The cost to the average homeowner in Miami-Dade County will be $9.80 a year.
"We've been operating on fumes, fumes. You may have the best policies in place but if you have no funding, you're not going to get a different result," said Carvalho.
It's been 24 years since Miami-Dade voters were asked to approve a $980 million school bond issue, but some members of the black community thought they got shortchanged.
Carvalho promised that won't happen this time around, saying, "According to our plan, some of the first 70 projects under this bond will go into the urban area. Not in the second or third or fourth phase of the bond, the very first phase. The first phase is years one, two and three."
Over the last month, the issue has received some strong support from an all-start cast, including Alonzo Mourning and Former Senator Bob Graham.
During Monday's meeting, Carvalho promised to ensure that 100 percent of dollars raised will be invested directly in the community to stimulate the local economy and create jobs.