Miami-Dade School Board · District 1
Katrina Wilson: the record
Facts about the School Board candidate, with sources.
Updated
Key facts
- Running for Miami-Dade School Board District 1. The runoff is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026.
- Resigned from the Miami Gardens City Council to run.
- Principal of Liberty City Charter School from 1996, under the name Katrina Wilson-Davis.
- The Miami-Dade School Board closed that school in 2008. Its debt had grown to $1 million.
- Vice president of the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools.
- Pushed twice to give Miami Gardens council members a third term.
Who is Katrina Wilson?
Katrina Wilson is a candidate for Miami-Dade School Board District 1 in the runoff on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. She resigned from the Miami Gardens City Council to run for the School Board.12
In 1996 she became principal of Liberty City Charter School, Florida's first charter school, under the name Katrina Wilson-Davis.1,6 The Miami-Dade School Board closed that school in 2008 because of its finances.3 She is vice president of the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools.7
Is Katrina Wilson the same person as Katrina Wilson-Davis?
Yes. News coverage of Liberty City Charter School names its principal as Katrina Wilson-Davis.1,4 Katrina Wilson's campaign website says she was appointed principal and CEO of Liberty City Charter School in 1996.6
Her campaign website also says she is a founding officer and vice president of the Florida Consortium of Charter Schools.6 That group's board page lists “Katrina Wilson-Davis, Vice President.”7
What was Liberty City Charter School?
Liberty City Charter School was Florida's first charter school. It opened in 1996. Jeb Bush founded it with T. Willard Fair of the Urban League of Greater Miami, two years before Bush was elected governor.1,4
Bush picked Wilson-Davis as principal six weeks before the school opened. The Washington Post described her then as “a 32-year-old social studies teacher with no management experience.”1 She recalls Bush telling her, “We need someone who carries a knife in her teeth.”1 Fair told the New York Times the school wanted “an inexperienced person” who would not be beholden to teachers unions.2
Why did Liberty City Charter School close?
The Miami-Dade School Board closed Liberty City Charter School in 2008 because of its finances.3 The Miami Herald reported that school leaders “had lost a legal battle with the landlord over a damaged roof and owed $500,000 in legal fees,” then “plunged even deeper into debt by purchasing a new piece of property.”3
The debt grew to $1 million, according to the Washington Post.1 The Associated Press reported that the school “closed after eight years because of severe financial problems but not before receiving $1.1 million in state capital funds.”5 The school board voted to “immediately terminate the contract.”2 The New York Times later called the empty campus “a ruin baking in the Miami sun.”2
What are Katrina Wilson's ties to the charter-school industry?
Katrina Wilson is vice president of the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools.7 She is also listed as president of the governing board of The Charter School of Excellence in Fort Lauderdale.8
The Florida Auditor General's audit report for that school for fiscal year 2023–24 lists “Katrina Wilson-Davis, President” on its board of directors.9
What did Katrina Wilson propose on Miami Gardens term limits?
As a Miami Gardens council member, Katrina Wilson proposed letting council members serve three four-year terms instead of two. She first introduced it in June 2024. The city's Charter Review Committee rejected it, and she brought it back in March 2025.10
The Miami Times reported that a special election on the change could cost up to $200,000. Putting the question on the 2026 general election ballot instead would cost up to $6,000.10 In April 2025, Mayor Rodney Harris told the council “there will be no item brought for a third term.”11
Why did Katrina Wilson leave the Miami Gardens City Council?
Katrina Wilson resigned from the Miami Gardens City Council to run for the School Board.12
When is the Miami-Dade School Board District 1 runoff?
The runoff is on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. Katrina Wilson and Linda Cothiere are the two candidates. In the eight-candidate primary on Aug. 18, Wilson received 33% of the vote and Cothiere 21%.12
Our opinion
Katrina Wilson ran a school that the Miami-Dade School Board shut down. She should not sit on that board. Send Katrina Wilson back.
Sources
- Jeb Bush gave this black community a charter school. Then he moved on. Washington Post, Nov. 1, 2015.
- Charter School Hailed by Jeb Bush Ended in Ruin New York Times, Mar. 8, 2015.
- Birth of a charter school and Jeb Bush's vision for education Miami Herald (Kathleen McGrory), reprinted by the Center for Education Reform, Mar. 7, 2015.
- Schoolhouse Knocks Miami New Times, Aug. 23, 2000.
- State gave charter schools millions before they closed but recovered little Associated Press, via WUSF, Dec. 13, 2015.
- About Katrina Wilson Katrina Wilson campaign website, accessed Sept. 24, 2026.
- Board of Directors Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools, accessed Sept. 24, 2026.
- Governing Board The Charter School of Excellence, accessed Sept. 24, 2026.
- The Charter School of Excellence, audit report for fiscal year 2023–24 Florida Auditor General, filed 2024.
- Proposed extension for term limits sparks controversy in Miami Gardens The Miami Times, via WLRN, Apr. 3, 2025.
- Mayor Rodney Harris declares there will be no third term for Miami Gardens City Council Hy-Lo News, Apr. 12, 2025.
- In Miami-Dade, two veteran educators make the runoff for the District 1 School Board race The Florida Trib, Aug. 19, 2026.