Haitian American Linda Cothière advances to Miami-Dade school board runoff, seeking to make history
Overview:
Linda Cothière, who describes herself as a proud Miami-Dade public school product, has advanced to a runoff that could make her the county’s first Haitian American school board member. With no candidate clearing the 50% threshold to win the seat outright, top contenders Cothière and Katrina Wilson are locked in a Nov. 3 election to decide who becomes the next school board member representing the predominantly Black North Dade district — including a large Haitian population.
MIAMI — Linda Cothière, a Haitian-born public school educator who has spent more than three decades working in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, is one election away from potentially becoming the first Haitian American elected to the county’s nine-member school board.
Cothière advanced to a Nov. 3 runoff against Katrina Wilson, another longtime’s Miami-Dade educator, for the vacant District 1 seat after neither candidate secured more than 50% of the vote in Tuesday’s nonpartisan election. Wilson finished first with 33% of the vote, while Cothière received 21%, according to results reported after the Aug. 18 vote.
“I don’t take this opportunity for granted and the responsibility that comes with it lightly,” Cothière said in an exclusive interview with The Haitian Times, describing her candidacy as one grounded in integrity, respect and service.
“As I have never let my mother down as a daughter, I will not let my community down,” she added. “Children first, parental collaboration always.”
The race carries particular significance for South Florida’s Haitian-heavy community because a Cothière victory would put a Haitian American on the board overseeing one of the nation’s largest public school districts. District 1 includes North Miami, North Miami Beach, Biscayne Gardens and Opa-locka, areas with substantial Haitian populations.
But Cothière is campaigning on a broader message than ethnic representation. She said she wants to represent all District 1 families, using her experience as an educator to address teacher pay, school safety, declining enrollment, parental involvement and how district resources are allocated.
The mother of two said her Haitian background is an important part of her story but does not define the diverse constituency she hopes to serve.
“I am not running just for the Haitian community,” she said. “I am running for District 1.”
That distinction could be important in a district that also includes large African American, Caribbean, Latino and other communities.
Her campaign plans to increase direct voter outreach before the November runoff through door-to-door canvassing, phone calls, community visits and other efforts aimed at building relationships with voters.
The August primary began with a crowded field. In addition to Cothière and Wilson, Miami-Dade’s official ballot also listed Erhabor Ighodaro, a former vice mayor of Miami Gardens; Joy L. Jackson, a retired teacher who worked in Miami-Dade public schools for 51 years; Bernard W.H. Jennings, a former county Democratic Party official; Wrendly Mesidor, a Catholic school teacher; Wilson and James Wright, former police chief and city manager of Opa-locka; and write-in candidate Thera Johnson.
Wilson emerged as the top vote-getter, while Cothière narrowly secured the second runoff position over Jackson by less than 2 percent.
From Cap-Haïtien to Miami-Dade classrooms
Cothière was born in Cap-Haïtien and moved to the United States at 14. She attended Miami-Dade institutions and St. Thomas University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in education before building a career in the school system she now seeks to help govern.
Her career has included work as a paraprofessional and community involvement specialist before becoming an elementary classroom teacher. She has taught math, science, reading and social studies.
“My experience inside Miami-Dade public schools gives me a firsthand understanding of the challenges facing educators, students and families,” she said.
That experience is central to her campaign as the district confronts declining enrollment, school closures and financial pressures.
Cothière said enrollment has fallen by about 4%, with the loss of over 13,000 students, which she attributes in part to the high cost of living pushing families out of Miami-Dade, as well as school choice. The Miami-Dade school district, one of the county’s largest employers and landowners, has responded to declining enrollment by tightening its budget, reorganizing classrooms and closing schools.
Despite that decline, Miami-Dade County Public Schools recently climbed past Chicago to become the nation’s third-largest school district, serving roughly 330,000 to 335,000 students across more than 500 schools.
Cothière said she wants greater scrutiny of how resources are distributed, particularly when schools operated under choice programs use facilities originally built and maintained for public schools.
She added that those programs should contribute appropriately to the operational costs associated with shared facilities such as gyms, cafeterias and athletic fields.
A campaign built around teachers, parents and safety
Cothière’s campaign platform centers on four priorities: empowering teachers with freedom, improving school safety and facilities, giving parents a stronger voice and improving teacher pay and retention.
She wants the district to reduce duplicative paperwork imposed on teachers, protect classroom autonomy and include working teachers in advisory committees involved in curriculum and scheduling decisions.
On school safety, her campaign calls for every District 1 school to meet state safety requirements, including having a safe-school officer, a single point of entry and an Alyssa’s Law panic alarm. She also wants an accounting of spending from the district’s 2012, $1.2 billion school bond and greater attention to air conditioning, repairs and classroom technology.
For parents, she supports requiring meaningful notice and input before schools are closed, consolidated or rezoned. Her campaign also calls for district communications to be available in English, Haitian Creole and Spanish.
“I am not running just for the Haitian community. I am running for District 1. As I have never let my mother down as a daughter, I will not let my community down.”
Linda Cothière, Candidate for Miami-Dade School Board’s District 1
Teacher compensation is another central issue. Cothière supports protecting the voter-approved teacher salary referendum and closing what she describes as a pay and working-condition gap with neighboring counties.
Her campaign also calls for greater state investment in teacher salaries, noting Florida’s ranking near the bottom nationally for teacher pay.
A tied contest as charter expansion, school choice and immigration loom
Cothière expects the Nov. 3 election to be a tough race, given her opponent’s education and political experience. But she said she will work hard to earn the community’s vote and win.
“Being in that position is a blessing,” she said. “There will be no break. I am going to knock on every door.”
Wilson, a former Miami Gardens City Council member and school principal, entered the race with extensive experience in education and school administration. She has also been linked to Florida’s school-choice movement through her leadership at Liberty City Charter School in Miami—the state’s first charter school, co-founded in 1996 by former Governor Jeb Bush and T. Willard Fair. The school closed permanently in 2008 due to operational and financial struggles.
During the campaign, Wilson has emphasized giving families educational options while improving the quality of public schools. She has also highlighted her experience managing schools and navigating changes in education, including technology.
After the primary, Wilson said families in District 1 are looking for ways to improve education and determine which options work best for their children.
“Overall, people are looking for ways to improve education,” she said to local reporters. “They are looking for options for their children as they are deciphering what’s best for them as families. I think the choice movement is part of that.”
Her campaign did not provide an immediate response for this article.
The race is unfolding as Miami-Dade schools confront broader changes in Florida education policy, including the expansion of state-favored school choice and universal private-school vouchers.
Tension mounted in April, when the Miami-Dade School Board approved a co-location agreement allowing the New York-based charter network Success Academy to operate in five public high schools under Florida’s expanded Schools of Hope law — according to Hoodline. Heated debates over the plan became a focal point during July candidate debates.
Immigration is also a concern for many Haitian families in South Florida following the end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which has sparked fear of detention and deportation amid increased crackdowns by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
During her primary campaign, Cothière spoke about the importance of making immigrant families feel safe sending their children to school.
“No one is supposed to have fear to send their kids to school,” she said. “This hit me really, really hard because I am a daughter of immigrants and I am an immigrant myself.”