Miami-Dade voters hold the fate of teacher raises in their hands.
In an effort to explain and answer questions about the Teacher Compensation and School Safety Referendum on November's ballot, Miami-Dade Public Schools is hosting nine town halls throughout the county from now through next month.
The schools superintendent, school board members and United Teachers of Dade representatives are slated to attend.
Miami-Dade Schools' Daisy Gonzalez-Diego says instructors play a key role in making the A-rated district one of the highest performing in the state and "we've got to make sure that we retain teachers, good teachers, and that we continue to recruit them, and it makes it difficult to do that when the cost of living in Miami-Dade County is so high, and obviously they're not being compensated the way they should be."
She adds as the district continues to build on accomplishments like having no F schools and providing school security, and they hope to be able to provide teachers the compensation they deserve.
In order to meet state requirements of having at least one police officer on guard at every campus, the district has reached agreements with multiple municipalities.