![\"Chief](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/MIA_110Dotresschool09NEWPPP.jpeg\" "\\"Chief")
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Chief Financial Officer of Miami-Dade Public Schools Ron Y. Steiger pictured in 2024.<\/p>\n
Pedro Portal<\/p>\n
pportal@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
Miami-Dade schools\u2019 top financial official is leaving for a similar role at a nearby private university.<\/p>\n
Ron Steiger, Miami-Dade County Public Schools\u2019 chief financial officer, is set to become CFO and Vice President of Business and Finance at Barry University<\/a>, the school announced Tuesday. He begins his new role Aug. 10.<\/p>\n Steiger told the Herald in an interview that he loved his 20 years at the school district, the last nine of which were as chief financial officer. He added that his departure was more about the allure of the position at Barry, a private Catholic University with an enrollment of about 4,600 undergraduate students, than any desire to move on from the district.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing probably the highest performing urban district in the entire country year-over-year, it has been amazing. [His departure] is not about any of the things that are going on at MDCPS or any of the big topics that we\u2019ve had to deal with. This is really just a story about Barry, and I\u2019m not leaving MDCPS for any reason other than I have an opportunity to go to one of the premier higher ed institutions as their CFO. It\u2019s a really exciting opportunity,\u201d Steiger said.<\/p>\n Steiger\u2019s role at Barry will remain operational, not academic.<\/p>\n \u201cThe core of the job is the same, which is your role is to make sure that the business and finance functions of these major educational enterprises are are are working well and not separate and apart from the rest of the institution, but embedded into its core,\u201d Steiger said.<\/p>\n One of Steiger\u2019s recent assignments at the county\u2019s public school system has been to make recommendations to help the district mange its declining enrollment<\/a> \u2014 cited reasons include declining birthrates, decreased rates of immigration and increased school choice via universal private school vouchers.<\/p>\n Last school year, enrollment at traditional public schools fell by 13,000 students; this year, Steiger projected the district\u2019s enrollment to drop by another 8,000.<\/p>\n The district has responded to those issues by seeking to find efficiencies, cut costs and closing a handful of schools.<\/p>\n According to a recent presentation to the board delivered by Steige<\/a>r, about 96% of district spending goes toward \u201cschool level services.\u201d That puts Miami-Dade in a league of its own when it comes to \u201cefficiency,\u201d Steiger said at the time.<\/p>\n