Eight candidates contested the Miami-Dade School Board’s District 1 seat in a primary election on August 20, with no candidate receiving a majority. Linda Cothiere and Katrina Wilson advanced to a November 3 runoff after receiving 21% and 33% of the vote, respectively. Monica Colucci was re-elected to District 8 with 92% of the vote, while Board Chair Maria Teresa Rojas, Roberto Alonso and Dorothy Bendross‑Mindingall ran unopposed. Wilson, a former city council member, raised $48,000 and spent less than $3,000 through August 13. Cothiere raised $21,000 and spent about $21,000. Joy Jackson, who received 19% of the vote, raised nearly $26,000 and spent more than $22,000 before Election Day, receiving the United Teachers of Dade endorsement and being mentioned in The Miami Times. James Wright, the former Opa‑locka police chief and city manager, raised $16,000 and spent $14,000, emphasizing student safety, achievement, teacher recruitment, parental involvement, facility modernization and workforce readiness. Cothiere’s platform includes reducing teacher paperwork, auditing the district’s share of the 2012 school bond, requiring parental input before any school closure or rezoning, and directing local funds to teacher pay. Jackson argues that publicly funded charters should face the same accountability as traditional schools and opposes closures of public schools. Wilson’s background includes three decades in Miami‑Dade schools, service as a social studies teacher, founder of the 5000 Role Models mentorship program, and 15 years as principal and CEO of Liberty City Charter School, the first charter in Florida. She now works as a curriculum support specialist for the district and helped establish the Florida Consortium of Charter Schools. The runoff will be decided on November 3, determining the school board’s composition for the upcoming term.