Miami-Dade has its new superintendent of public schools.
After public interviews were held Wednesday between two finalists, the Miami-Dade school board unanimously selected current South Region Superintendent Rafael Villalobos to lead the district.
The decision caps a months-long search process, which drew 21 applications from across the country, including from administrators in some of the nation’s biggest districts.
Ultimately, the board went with a familiar face in Villalobos, 54. He’s led MDCPS’ South Region, covering more than 80,000 students, since 2022. Villalobos began his career in the district in 1994, and has worked there for 27 years.
Villalobos was a finalist alongside Ernie Lozano, the chief human resources officer for Broward County Public Schools. Both candidates sat for a nearly hour-long public interview with all eight board members.
“I am grateful, and I’m ready. I am ready to serve the children of Miami-Dade County, the families and the communities, and everyone that touches indirectly or directly our school system,” Villalobos said immediately after the decision was announced.
The Miami-Dade native will replace Superintendent Jose Dotres, whose contract is scheduled to end Feb. 14, 2027. Dotres was hired in 2022 to replace Alberto Carvalho.
The board’s decision to name Villalobos superintendent marks the third consecutive hire with deep administrative roots in the Miami-Dade school system. Dotres was once Carvalho’s chief of staff, and Carvalho was an assistant superintendent before taking the top job.
Villalobos received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Nova Southeastern University. He is a doctoral candidate at Florida International University.
Rafael Villalobos, South region superintendent of MDCPS, after being selected as the new Miami Dade County Public School superintendent. Pedro Portal [email protected]
The administrator was principal of several schools in the county system. He made history as the first principal to lead two high schools at the same time, Booker T. Washington Senior High and Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial High in 2009 and 2010.
Villalobos was named principal of the year in 2020, when he led John A. Ferguson Senior High.
In his interview with the board, Villalobos addressed issues like enrollment decline, reading proficiency, school safety, curriculum, achievement gaps and more.
Villalobos expressed a desire to play an active public-facing role as superintendent, and also to tackle the issues facing the district – enrollment decline and resulting financial pressures chief among them – head on. He also stressed his deep familiarity with the district, its schools and the communities it serves.
“I’m ready on day one. I’ve been doing this work with efficacy, with love, compassion, with determination. I’ve never stopped,” Villalobos said.
Miami Dade School Board members congratulate Rafael Villalobos after he was selected as the new Miami Dade County Public School superintendent. Pedro Portal [email protected]
The board did not set a plan in place for when Villalobos would become superintendent, considering Dotres’ contract will end in February. The board agreed to meet Aug. 19 to finalize terms and conditions of Villalobos’ contract, with Board Chair Mari Tere Rojas negotiating those terms in the interim.
‘Lead from the front’
Board members didn’t need long to deliberate before their vote. After they voted unanimously to name him the next superintendent, they all lauded his leadership and expressed hope for the future.
The main topic of praise was Villalobos’ communication skills.
“You have interpersonal skills that are second to none. I know that. I’ve witnessed that throughout the years… Selecting the next superintendent of schools is indeed the most consequential decision that we can make as a board, and I think we truly have made an exemplary one,” Rojas said.
District 5 Board Member Danny Espino said Villalobos would “lead with confidence.”
“Raphael Villalobos has the combination of educational knowledge, the needed experience, the trusted relationships, our shared values as a board… and the leadership skills to hit the ground running and lead with confidence. He will continue to lead from the front, which is something incredibly important to me,” Espino said.
Villalobos did not shy away from some of the major issues the district is currently navigating.
In a press availability after the decision, he addressed some of those challenges, like enrollment decline and welcoming immigrant students in an era of increased deportation and federal immigration enforcement.
Villalobos referenced his background dealing with school consolidations when asked if the district would need to consider consolidating or closing schools at a faster rate — nine schools in operation last school year will not open this upcoming school year.
“We definitely are going to have to do a little bit more, a little bit faster — and not necessarily just school closures. We may need to look at boundary changes. We may need to look at dissolving boundaries. We may need to look at consolidating schools. We may need to look at partnering schools together,” Villalobos said.
He also said he embraces the pressure on traditional public schools as enrollment at private schools — and the use of taxpayer-funded vouchers to help fund that education — increases and charter school enrollment remains robust. Alongside the declining birth rate and immigration trends, these school choice options are viewed as a contributor to public school enrollment decline.
“We’re in an ecosystem of educational choices, right? And I view it as a competition. I view it as the opportunity for us to outshine the competitors, and we will do that,” Villalobos said.
This story was originally published July 29, 2026 at 12:49 PM.
