It should be packed in room 2106 at the Wolfson Campus of Miami Dade College Thursday morning when the Board of Trustees meets for the first time since it scrapped the search process for a new president last month.
Word is that the fix is in. That the newly-appointed members by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis want to appoint a political pal. That’s why they tried to 
water down the educational and experience requirements — to make room for someone wholly unqualified, like former State Rep. Jose Felix “Pepi” Diaz. Other names that have been mentioned as possible political appointments: Manny Diaz Jr., a charter school executive just elected to the Senate, and former Congressman Carlos Curbelo, who started his political career as a Miami-Dade School Board member and said last week that he was not going to run for Miami-Dade mayor.
Read related: Political palanca puts Miami Dade College president search on pause
Educators and the United Faculty of Miami Dade College have cried foul. Several faculty members have filed a lawsuit saying 
the board is violating its own rules and demanding the process be restored. There have been demonstrations and about 100 cars drove from the Kendall campus to the downtown campus on Saturday. Even some local electeds and newspaper columns have denounced the obvious political interference.
People are angry. So angry, in fact, that the board chairman, Bernie Navarro, issued a statement this week asking folks to keep their cool:
“This Thursday, Trustees will meet to define the next steps in the process to select a new president of Miami Dade College. As
Trustees, it is our duty. Because state colleges have historically been linked to the local communities they serve, Trustees are expected to involve the community and key local stakeholders in the presidential search process. Local engagement and control are central to the mission of state colleges. Therefore, trustees have been given the final say in selecting a college president. This must be respected.
During a time when emotions are understandably high, I respectfully request that members of the Miami Dade College community and my colleagues on the Board of Trustees maintain professionalism, decorum and protocol before and during Thursday’s Special Board Meeting. Civility is paramount to making progress on the issues facing Miami Dade College, an institution we all cherish and highly respect.”
¡No me digas!
You know what else is paramount to making progress on the issues facing Miami Dade College and to keep it an institution we a
ll cherish and highly respect? Transparency. Honesty. Integrity.
None of those things will be present if the board does not go back and choose from the shortlist provided by the very qualified selection committee.
And protocol? After this board abandoned all protocol to pay a political favor?
The only thing the board can do now to keep any legitimacy is follow the original protocol and choose from the shortlist. They should ultimately appoint Miami Dade College Vice President and Provost Lenore Rodicio (photo left), the front 
runner and a clearly qualified successor, who board member Marcell Felipe — the attorney who caused chaos at the taxpayer paid American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora — called a communist to smear her and hurt her chances.
Oh, and the governor should remove and replace Felipe, who should not be involved any further in this process.
The meeting starts at 9 a.m. in room 2106 at the downtown campus, 300 NE Second Ave.
Miami Dade College trustees meet re scrapped search, urge ‘decorum’ added by Ladra on
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