SCHOOL DISTRICT MAKING GOOD ON PLEDGE FOR NEW SEATS

MIAMI – Miami-Dade County Public Schools is well on its way to adding 18,170 student seat for next school year. In a report to the School Board Wednesday, Superintendent Rudolph F. “Rudy” Crew noted that half of the additional capacity is more than 50 percent complete.  The 18,170 new student stations, located at 66 school campuses, represent an increase of nearly 13,000 more seats than originally planned.  At 46 of the sites, a total of 12,667 student station will be delivered by the construction of prototypical modular classroom buildings. A list of all projects is attached.

In other business, the Board also approved raising the school district’s contingency reserve from $40 million to $62.1 million as part of a mid-year budget adjustment.  The increase will help the district provide for any unforeseen expenses which may arise during the coming year.  In the last six months, the District has made budget shifts that have doubled its contingency reserve – an important indicator of fiscal strength.

The Board also accepted the donation of 500 books to each of the 39 schools within the School Improvement Zone.  The 19,500 books valued at $172,287.37 came from Gumdrop Professional Resource Center, a division of Central Programs, Inc.  The books will help strengthen the School Improvement Zone’s core focus on literacy, from pre-kindergarten through grade 12 and will help foster students’ appreciation for reading in order to develop lifelong learners.

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