A promising lesson plan

For too long, the words “broken” and “promise” have been inextricably linked when civic concern turns to Overtown. The residents of this storied and once-vibrant African-American neighborhood now are struggling economically, socially and academically. Redevelopment plans have come about in fits and starts, and there has been no magic wand to wave to improve the quality of life there.

But an incipient partnership between the Miami-Dade County School District and the Community Redevelopment Agency could provide the key to reenergizing Overtown with safe affordable housing. The attraction would be a newly renovated K-12 school — specifically the now-dilapidated Frederick Douglass Elementary School on Northwest 12th Street and Third Avenue. Throw in stores and services that could fill the needs of new residents, school staffers and the students, and you’ve got a creative plan that can succeed in spite of tight public budgets.

The school district and the CRA have agreed to enter into negotiations to renovate Frederick Douglass, which is falling apart around the few students and employees left at the school.

That has fantastic potential — if it’s done right and the CRA money is used as a loan to the district.

There are about 400 students at Douglass, but it can handle 800, so it is woefully underutilized. Under initial plans, the school would be converted to a K-8 facility. It’s a popular approach that’s attractive to parents and students alike. It offers continuity for families; students don’t have to transfer to a middle school. In addition, the new and improved Frederick Douglass, a magnet school, would have what’s called a STEM curriculum, emphasizing science, technology, engineering and math, which should excite downtown Miami workers nearby who might consider enrolling their children at Douglass.

The project is in keeping with the missions of both partners: The CRA collects taxes in the downtown/Overtown area to keep it spruced up, encourage economic development there, expand the tax base, create jobs and improve the quality of life. The school district is in the business of providing students a quality education. But plummeting property values have taken a toll on the district’s construction fund. Plus, the state has stopped giving it money for construction or maintenance.

The CRA would be able to cover the cost of renovating this elementary school — at about $20 million — now that construction costs are low. However, this money should not necessarily be a gift, especially at the risk of taxing some property owners twice for education: once through property taxes collected by the county, then again in the CRA’s tax-increment district. Both the CRA and the school district should commit to a loan that would eventually be repaid to the CRA to use for other economic development projects.

There is precedent for this community-building partnership: In 2000, another quasi-independent Miami agency, the Downtown Development Authority, contributed $100,000 to help create the K-6 Downtown Miami Charter School — again part of a strategy to make the area more appealing to families to live in; the city of Sunny Isles Beach gave the district resources for a K-8 school.

In 2002, when the CRA, under different leadership, failed to help ailing businesses remodel; and in 2007, a high-stakes megaplan to redevelop downtown risked breaking yet another promise to Overtown areas.

Enough. Renovating Douglass Elementary — and revitalizing a neighborhood — should be a promise kept.