Miami Lakes advisory committee hears principals, library praise and presses town to spare school and library programs amid budget talks

Miami Lakes — At a meeting of the Miami Lakes Education Advisory Committee held at town hall, school principals and the Miami Lakes Branch Library’s youth services specialist reported school performance and program wins, and members urged residents to attend an impending town budget meeting to oppose proposed cuts to local education and library programs.

The committee’s chair added a budget discussion to the agenda and the group voted by voice to add a student-report item; both motions carried without roll-call votes. Nancy Matos, youth services specialist at the Miami Lakes Branch Library, thanked the committee for continuing support of library programs and said the branch won a national recognition: “we won our 2025 Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties,” and received an “excellent award” for the young-adult advisory board, she said.

The remarks came amid extended updates from principals across the Miami Lakes feeder schools. Speakers reported a mix of academic recognitions, participation and enrollment trends: one elementary and middle school principal said their schools maintained A ratings or other designations, while several high school and middle school principals reported small year-to-year enrollment declines (examples given in the meeting included 1,107 and 1,165 as recent comparison figures for one school and enrollment totals such as 996, 1,265 and 3,030 at other campuses). Dr. Sanchez, principal of Barbara Goldman Senior High School, reported the school’s AP and magnet achievements and that the school has 3,030 students, up about 170 from last year.

Budget concern was the meeting’s central substantive discussion. Committee members said the Town Council is reviewing the town budget and that several program line items are “on the chopping block,” including the Imagination Library, an annual awards line, and some school-related program funding. Committee members encouraged principals, parents and students to attend the council’s budget meeting and speak in support of programs. The committee chair relayed that the council’s budget session was scheduled for a Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers and asked members who can attend to do so.

Committee discussion also produced operational decisions and directions. The committee set a schedule and responsibilities for the spelling bee: the event will remain focused on sixth graders (Miami Lakes Middle and neighborhood feeders); the committee asked staff to finalize and circulate the formal invitation and a word list by early to mid-October so students have several weeks to prepare; January 30 was named as the event date. Members also scheduled the committee’s next meeting for Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m. and discussed participation and volunteer recruitment for town events including the Halloween haunted-house and the Veterans Day parade. Several principals said they will mobilize students and parents to attend the town budget meeting if committee members circulate that request to school communities.

Meeting participants reviewed the committee’s program budgets during discussion. The committee was given line-item figures during the meeting: $26,500 allocated among vocabulary/academic classes across the three schools (roughly $8,000 per school), $10,000 directed to two other school line items, $4,000 to a Friends-of-the-Library line item, and about $1,000 historically used toward the committee’s awards (figures discussed in the meeting). Committee members noted that removing town funding for the two signature events (the awards gala and the spelling bee support) would make it difficult for the group to deliver the programs in the same form, even if private fundraising or sponsorships were pursued.

The meeting also addressed administrative matters: approval of minutes from the prior meeting (voice vote approved), attendance rules for committee members (the committee chair reviewed limits on consecutive absences and annual absence counts), and a procedural motion to add a “new student report” item to the agenda (voice vote approved). Several principals described programmatic highlights — robotics and STEM designations, new planetarium and expanded preschool ASD units, strong AP Spanish pass rates, partnerships with Joe DiMaggio and Nicklaus Children’s Hospital for service projects — which the committee noted as evidence of community benefit tied to the town’s current program support.

The meeting closed after final reminders about outreach to the council’s budget hearing and about volunteer signups for upcoming town events. The committee adjourned at 5:38 p.m.