蜜桃影视

When Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho reversed course at the 11th hour Thursday and shot down an offer to become New York City鈥檚 next schools chancellor 鈥� in a captivating, televised display of political theater 鈥� the reactions from two cities couldn鈥檛 have been more polarized.

The outcry from New Yorkers was overwhelmingly negative, including from Mayor Bill de Blasio, who said Friday morning that he was 鈥渂lindsided鈥� by Carvalho鈥檚 apparent flip-flop. In Miami, however, residents gave a sigh of relief over Carvalho鈥檚 surprise decision to stay in the position he鈥檚 held for about a decade.

One of them was Enid Weisman, mayor of nearby Aventura, who, as a Miami-Dade schools administrator, hired Carvalho for his first teaching job at Miami Jackson Senior High School about three decades ago.

鈥淭he children in Miami-Dade County are the luckiest children. They come out the winners,鈥� Weisman said. She attended Thursday鈥檚 board meeting in Miami and acknowledged that Carvalho鈥檚 last-minute decision to stay came with significant personal risk. 鈥淲e鈥檒l never know because it didn鈥檛 happen, but if he were able to do what he did here in New York, New York would be as happy as Dade County,鈥� she said.

Leading up to the announcement, de Blasio made clear that he wanted a new chancellor who would follow in Carmen Fari帽a鈥檚 footsteps. Weisman 鈥斅爓ho has spoken to Carvalho several times since the meeting 鈥斅爏peculated that Carvalho worried he wouldn鈥檛 be given 鈥渁 free hand to be able to do the kinds of reforms that would be necessary.鈥�

Weisman said she thinks Carvalho regrets the decision to accept de Blasio鈥檚 offer before changing his mind. 鈥淚 think he will remain very conflicted about that,鈥� she said.

In a televised 鈥渆mergency鈥� school board meeting Thursday that鈥檚 been widely mocked as 鈥淭he Carvalho Show,鈥� the Miami-Dade superintendent was expected by many to announce his departure for the top New York City schools job. But instead, members of the Miami community begged Carvalho 鈥� over the course of more than three hours 鈥� to stay put. School board members offered the superintendent a unanimous 鈥渧ote of confidence.鈥� Audience members chanted, 鈥淧lease don鈥檛 go.鈥� A student at iPreparatory Academy, a magnet school Carvalho founded and serves as principal, gave the superintendent a hug. Even rapper Luther Campbell showed up to offer Carvalho some encouragement, calling his potential move a travesty.

After delivering a passionate speech that reflected on his time in Miami, Carvalho requested two highly unusual recesses聽before announcing he would break a promise with the New York mayor and stay in Florida, prompting a boisterous standing ovation. The night before the school board meeting, Carvalho said during the gathering, he was inundated by hundreds of text messages and voicemails encouraging him to stay. Ultimately, he attributed the change of heart to conversations he had with two undocumented students, who said their futures were uncertain without him.

The very public diss to New York put de Blasio in a tight spot. On Wednesday evening, de Blasio announced he had found 鈥渁 world-class educator with an unmatched track record of success鈥� to replace Chancellor Carmen Fari帽a, who has held the job for four years. With more than 1 million students, New York has the largest and highest-profile public school system in the country. Although de Blasio maintains Carvalho accepted the chancellor job more than a week ago, a Miami-Dade spokesman told 蜜桃影视 he was offered the job but hadn鈥檛 yet accepted 鈥斅爎aising speculation that someone was lying. During the meeting, Carvalho acknowledged that he鈥檇 broken an agreement with New York officials but said, 鈥淚 just don鈥檛 know how to break a promise to a child, how to break a promise to a community.鈥�

Weisman said the precise truth may be difficult to ascertain. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know that anyone other than de Blasio and Alberto will know exactly what was said,鈥� she said.

The sharp-dressed superintendent, who has a knack for eloquent public speeches and attracting media attention, is remarkably well-liked in Miami. Rumors have long percolated about whether he plans to run for higher office, though pundits in both New York and Florida predict he鈥檒l take a political hit for Thursday鈥檚 flip.

, Campbell, the rapper, wrote that Miami is 鈥渄amn lucky鈥� Carvalho decided to snub New York. During his tenure, Miami-Dade schools have seen drastic gains on state tests, and the district graduation rate has spiked more than 20 percent. In 2012, Carvalho encouraged taxpayers to to fund school maintenance projects. More recently, Carvalho has sparred with state lawmakers over that requires public school districts to share tax dollars earmarked for school construction with local charter school operators. An immigrant and fierce advocate for Miami鈥檚 undocumented students, Carvalho has also taken shots at President Donald Trump over immigration policy.

鈥淗ad Carvalho chosen to leave, it would have been the saddest moment in the history of Miami-Dade County Public Schools,鈥� wrote Campbell. 鈥淭he superintendent has done a phenomenal job making the nation鈥檚 fourth-largest school district a model for public education without the baggage his predecessors carried.鈥�

Campbell outlined several scandals that had riled previous Miami-Dade superintendents, including former superintendent Rudy Crew who, coincidentally, was New York City schools chancellor before moving to Florida. Campbell noted that two dozen Miami-Dade schools had received failing grades from the state under Crew, who also become embroiled in a involving a star high school athlete.

What Campbell didn鈥檛 mention, however, is Carvalho鈥檚 own sex scandal. A decade ago, when Miami-Dade was considering Carvalho as its new superintendent, with a former Miami Herald education reporter. De Blasio said on Friday he warned Carvalho he鈥檇 face scrutiny over the decade-old news. That alleged affair may have been alluded to briefly during Thursday鈥檚 meeting, when school board member Susie Castillo remarked, to laughter, that 鈥渘o man is perfect.鈥�

The Miami Herald鈥檚 editorial board also , though it said the hours-long board meeting was unnecessary and de Blasio has every right to feel betrayed. 鈥淕iven that Carvalho is such a well-respected and accomplished leader, it鈥檚 a relief that the district won鈥檛 have to conduct a national search for a new superintendent,鈥� the board wrote. 鈥淗e鈥檚 been good for Miami-Dade County Public Schools. More important, he鈥檚 been vital for its students.鈥�

The Miami-Dade superintendent has not responded to interview requests from 蜜桃影视. Carvalho, who is a prolific Twitter user with 52,300 followers, tweeted another Herald op-ed praising his decision to stay. In a second tweet, Carvalho said the decision to stay was difficult but 鈥渢he kids and educators I鈥檝e know [sic] for a decade won.鈥�

On Friday, Carvalho tweeted out a picture of himself with young schoolchildren and a Dr. Seuss quote: 鈥淎lways remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think and twice as beautiful as you鈥檝e ever imagined.鈥�

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