Collier schools recruit Miami-Dade official for deputy superintendent role left open for years

Naples Daily News | Rachel Fradette | March 16, 2021

Collier County Public Schools Superintendent Kamela Patton is growing her team after recruiting a prominent Miami-Dade school official to fill a role vacated for years.

Jose L. Dotres, chief human capital officer for Miami-Dade Public Schools, is expected to join the school district next month after spending most of his career in Miami.

Dotres, 58, who worked with Patton during her decades-long career in Miami-Dade, brings diverse experience in different roles, Patton said.

“To get one of the top people in Miami over here is really, it’s a big thing, but it’s because we work well together,” Patton said.

The superintendent has the authority to recruit and hire people into administrative roles, according to the district. 

Patton said she knows the work he’s done in the fourth-largest school district in the country, specifically with leadership development.

“I know how he works,” Patton said. “I know how methodical he is and that ties right into our group.”

In an email to the Naples Daily News, Dotres said he is excited to join Collier’s school district. 

Dotres and his wife, Maribel, have discussed a move to Naples for several years, he wrote. 

“My family and I are looking forward to moving to Naples and being part of the community,” Dotres wrote.

Their 14-year-old son will start high school in the district, he wrote. 

In his current role, which he has held for nearly five years, Dotres made an annual salary of $191,538, according to Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

Dotres has worked in Miami-Dade County Schools for more than three decades.

Former Collier deputy superintendent David Stump retired at the end of the 2016-17 school year.

Since his retirement, the position’s duties were spread among senior staff, Chad Oliver, Collier’s district spokesman, wrote in an email.

The revitalized position will support strategic initiatives like school leadership pipelines, instructional staff professional development, and diversity recruitment and retention, Oliver wrote. 

With more than 40 years of experience, Stump’s salary was $180,797 upon his retirement, Oliver wrote.  

Dotres’ salary has not been finalized, but a minimum baseline for the position is about $131,530 but the actual salary depends on years of experience, degrees obtained and other factors, Oliver wrote. 

Dotres’ expected start date is April 1. Collier schools will begin the onboarding process at that time to finalize details, Oliver wrote.

Jose L. Dotres’ wife also receives an offer from Collier schools

Maribel Dotres, principal of Palm Springs North Elementary School, a school in Hialeah within the Miami-Dade district, also received an offer from Collier schools.

Maribel Dotres, 51, has served as principal at the school for more than a decade. She started with Miami-Dade in 1987. 

Her annual salary is $129,049, according to Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

She was offered the position of administrative director for teaching and learning. She is expected to start sometime in March, according to the district. 

Some responsibilities for the position include supporting the development of curriculum for K-12, giving guidance to district instructional leaders and providing support and oversight to district charter schools and home education. 

What’s next?

The Dotreses have not submitted letters of resignation, but Superintendent Alberto Carvalho was told of their impending departure, Jackie Calzadilla, a spokeswoman for the district, wrote in an email. 

Patton started her career in Miami-Dade County Public Schools where she filled several different positions over 25 years. In 2011, Patton accepted Collier’s superintendent role. 

The deputy superintendent is part of the school district’s leadership that includes directors of various departments, general counsel and associate superintendents. 

Both personnel decisions will be placed on the school board’s April agenda, according to the district. 

School Board Vice Chairwoman Jen Mitchell said Patton made her aware of the recruitment of Dotres early on in the process.

“He just checks all the boxes of the things that we need to do to fulfill our strategic plan,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell said a push to develop diversity, equity and inclusion in schools and at the district also led to Dotres’ hiring. 

“We really want to start developing that more strongly than what we are currently, and he brings expertise in that area,” Mitchell said.

School Board member Stephanie Lucarelli said Dotres brings a lot of experience, specifically his work on teacher retention and leadership development.

“My concern at this point is whether or not we’ll become too top heavy, depending on what other moves happen at the end of this school year, and that’s definitely a worry for me,” Lucarelli said.

Lucarelli said she likes to see more employees be promoted from within the district for top administrative jobs.

“I totally appreciate the need sometimes to look outside,” Lucarelli said. “What I know of him is exceptional and so for him to want, to be willing to come over here, or want to come over here is, is great,” Lucarelli said.