Join us for a lively discussion among education experts and activists on strategies to protect and strengthen public education.

Public education is a fundamental pillar of democracy and opportunity for working families. Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) have been navigating the challenges of chronic underfunding for decades, a situation further complicated by policies that emphasize privatization as an approach to education reform. As these efforts gain momentum, concerns about their impact on public schools and the communities they serve continue to grow. The effects are evident across the state, with cuts to programming, school consolidations, deteriorating school facilities, and inadequate teacher salaries. For many families, public schools are not only a place for education but also a vital source of resources and community support. With looming budget constraints and the expiration of federal stimulus funds, M-DCPS is facing financial uncertainty, which will disproportionately affect those who rely most on public schools.

Mina Hosseini, executive director of South Florida's education advocacy group P.S. 305, hosts Jennifer Berkshire, an authority on the dangers of education privatization, and Bruce Baker, a renowned expert on school finance, for an in-depth conversation on the forces shaping the future of M-DCPS. We’ll be joined by Ron Steiger, Chief Financial Officer of M-DCPS, who will offers insights into the evolution of the M-DCPS budget. Join us to learn the threats facing M-DCPS and effective strategies to ensure public schools remain a vital resource for all.

---

Jennifer Berkshire

Jennifer Berkshire writes about education and politics for the Nation, the New Republic, the Baffler, the New York Times, and other publications. The creator and co-host of the education policy podcast “Have You Heard,” she teaches in the Prison Education Program at Boston College. She is the author of two previous books, including A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door: The Dismantling of Public Education and the Future of School (with Jack Schneider).

Bruce Baker

Bruce Baker is Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the University of Miami and Co-director and creator of the School Finance Indicators Database. Widely considered the leading expert on the funding of public education, he has been researching, writing and consulting on school finance for over 25 years. His most recent books from Harvard Education Press include Educational Inequality and School Finance: Why Money Matters for America’s Students, and School Finance and Education Equity: Lessons from Kansas. A forthcoming book from Harvard Education Press will focus on housing discrimination and school funding inequality, coauthored with Matt Di Carlo of the Albert Shanker Institute. He is a recently inducted Fellow of the American Educational Research Association, and serves in advisory and research fellow roles for the National Education Policy Center, Learning Policy Institute and Brown’s Promise. He has consulted on state school funding policy design with Vermont, New Hampshire, Kansas, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Washington, Virginia, Missouri, Delaware, Oregon, testified in numerous state and federal courts on school funding inequalities and his work on racial inequalities in school funding has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court. He is presently collaborating with the World Bank on a global indicator system for evaluating educational adequacy. He occasionally blogs at Schoolfinance101.com.

Ron Steiger has served as the Chief Financial Officer of Miami-Dade County Public Schools since June 2017. He joined M-DCPS in 2005 as Executive Director, Office of Financial Operations. Since that time, he has served in the Superintendent's Office of Special Projects, as well as Assistant Chief Budget Officer and Chief Budget Officer. His current assignment as CFO includes responsibility for all traditional finance functions, in addition to procurement, risk management, Federal and State compliance, enterprise development, and grants management. Prior to working at M-DCPS, he worked at Arthur Andersen Business Consulting and Leo Burnett, a global advertising agency, as well as interning for Chicago Public Schools, Senator Bob Graham, CBS News, and Salomon Smith Barney. Mr. Steiger received a Master in Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor in Business Administration from the University of Michigan. He is also a graduate of the Broad Residency in Urban Education and from the Council of Great City Schools' Urban School Executives program.