MIAMI HERALD

July 3, 2009

Lease dispute closes two learning centers in South Miami-Dade

By LUIS ANDRES HENAO AND KATHLEEN McGRORY

The doors were padlocked when Marta Cruz and her two young daughters arrived at the girls' summer program Thursday.

The South Dade educational center was one of two programs for farmworkers' children that were closed due to a spat between the Homestead Housing Authority and the Miami-Dade School Board.

''I felt a lot of sadness,'' said Cruz, a farmworker from Mexico. ``This program has served the community for more than 30 years.''

The programs were operated by the Miami-Dade school district, but were in migrant camps. They offered pre-kindergarten classes, after-school care and tutoring.

The Housing Authority, which operates the camps, plans to replace the school district's programs with educational offerings of its own, said executive director Ed Carrera.

But Miami-Dade school officials say there is no alternative to what the school district can provide.

''These children come from the most fragile communities in Miami-Dade County,'' Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said. ``The safety net around them needs to be very strong.''

News that the programs at the Redland and South Dade centers were closed sparked protests in Homestead.

`VERY SPECIAL'

Angélica Rincón, 18, who is studying to become a medical assistant at the South Dade Adult Education Center, was among the 40 people who gathered along South Dixie Highway. She held a sign made from a cardboard box that read in English: ``Don't close the school.''

''The school is very special to me,'' Rincón said. ``It's where I got my first lessons. It gave me the impulse to go forward.''

Maribel Vega recalled how her two children benefited.

''One of my sons is in the Marines thanks to the education he received here,'' said Vega, who lived in the camp for 22 years. ``The closing of Redland is an injustice.''

At the South Dade Center near Homestead, Gavina Alegre, 29, a farmworker from Michoacan, Mexico, wondered where she would take her 10-year-old daughter Maria for help with her homework. ''We don't have computers at home or speak English so we can't help her,'' she said in Spanish.

Maria was also saddened: ``We do so much. We learn and draw and paint.''

HELPED HUNDREDS

The Miami-Dade school system has run programs for migrant children for nearly four decades. The programs, which are supplemented by federal funds allocated for poor students, serve more than 600 students and scores of parents.

Students in all grades can attend after-school programs during the school year and enrichment camps over the summer. Teachers help them prepare for FCATs and SATs, and also offer social events.

Two of the programs are offered on camps run by the Homestead Housing Authority. A third, run in partnership with the Everglades Community Association, is not affected, district spokesman John Schuster said.

The school district's lease with the Housing Authority ran out three years ago. Since then, the two sides have been unable to negotiate a new contract.

THE DISPUTE

Carrera, the Housing Authority's executive director, said negotiations fell through because the school district was unwilling to join its network.

''We established a network so the assistance wasn't being provided piecemeal,'' Carrera said. 'I told [the Miami-Dade County schools], `You cannot operate separately.' ''

Assistant Schools Superintendent Magaly Abrahante, however, said the district was willing to join -- so long as the Housing Authority couldn't supersede the Miami-Dade School Board and the state and federal Departments of Education.

''Our priority was to make sure the services were being provided to children,'' she said.

For the past three years, the school district continued to operate its programs at the camps -- until Housing Authority officials shut the doors on Thursday.

Tirso Moreno, president of the Florida Farmworkers Association, chided the Housing Authority for depriving educational services to children.

''The farmers don't have much education,'' he said. ``The program is a benefit to their children because they can improve in their schoolwork.''

`I'M HOPEFUL'

Carrera said the Housing Authority will offer identical services -- and rejected the idea that the school system was the best purveyor.

''Our programs that deal with children will have certified Dade County school teachers teaching those classes,'' he said.

Still, school district officials say they would like to stay in the camps.

''I'm hopeful that despite the setback, we can find a negotiated agreement to this problem,'' Carvalho said.

Homestead Mayor Lynda Bell said she had no authority to interfere.

''My concern is one thing: that children are serviced,'' Bell said. ``The Housing Authority has assured me that those services will be provided.''