Approve the amendment to the Interlocal Agreement moving the voluntary prekindergarten (VPK) class funded by the City from Biscayne Beach Elementary to Miami Beach Fienberg Fisher K-8 Center for 2024-2025 school year and allocating the funds for the 2025-26 school year to the City's prekindergarten scholarship program increasing the number of scholarships by approximately fifteen and each year thereafter to meet the needs of the community.

On December 9, 2015, the City Commission passed and adopted Resolution No. 2015-29222 authorizing the City Manager to negotiate an agreement (the “Agreement”) with M-DCPS, for the City to provide funding to M-DCPS for one prekindergarten classroom (VPK) at each of the following schools: Biscayne Elementary School and Fienberg/Fisher K-8 Center (the “CMB VPK classrooms”).

CMB and M-DCPS executed the Agreement, dated February 10, 2016. Prekindergarten services were offered at Biscayne Elementary School and Fienberg/Fisher K-8 Center under the terms of the Agreement for City of Miami Beach resident children from the four targeted schools (Biscayne Elementary School, Fienberg/Fisher K-8 Center, North Beach Elementary School and South Pointe Elementary School), following the Registration and Lottery Procedures for school years 2016/17, 2017/18, and 2018/19.

On April 11, 2018, the City Commission approved the reduction in funding for the CMB VPK classrooms during the 2018-2019 school year, by approving the removal the CMB VPK class at Fienberg/Fisher K-8 Center and providing funding for fifty percent (50%) of personnel costs for the CMB VPK class at Biscayne Elementary School, in an amount not to exceed $35,000, contingent upon M-DCPS funding the remaining costs.  

On June 26, 2018, the parties executed Amendment No. 1, memorializing that the CMB VPK class at Biscayne Elementary School would be providing the VPK program for the four targeted Miami Beach schools. The Administration and M-DCPS agreed to extend the Agreement to continue the CMB VPK program at Biscayne Elementary School for the 2019-2020 school year, with two (2) additional one-year extensions, upon mutual agreement of the parties, with the City continuing to contribute an amount not to exceed $35,000 per school year. M-DCPS agreed to fund the portion of the costs to operate the CMB VPK classroom which would not be funded by CMB for the 2019-2020 school year.

On June 5, 2019, the Mayor and City Commission adopted Resolution No. 2019-30840, approving, in substantial form, the Amendment. No 2 to the Agreement between the City and the School Board of Miami Dade County, for the continuation of the CMB VPK classroom at Biscayne Elementary School for the 2019-2020 school year; subject to two (2) additional one-year extensions by mutual agreement of the parties, based upon the same financial terms, which included an annual City contribution in the amount not to exceed $35,000.

The Administration executed an agreement per Resolution No. 2023-32571 to extend the Agreement to continue the CMB VPK program at Biscayne Elementary School for the 2023-2024 school year, with two (2) additional one-year extensions with the City to contribute an amount not to exceed $45,945 per school year.

Miami Beach Fienberg Fisher K-8 Center lost its Title I classification for the 2024-25 school year resulting in a loss of funding for VPK programming.  An amendment to the existing Interlocal Agreement, dated August 18, 2023, would allow MDCPS to move the one (1) Prekindergarten classroom (VPK) at Biscayne Beach Elementary to Miami Beach Fienberg Fisher K-8 to meet the needs of the community.    

The current City of Miami Beach funded VPK class is located at Biscayne Beach Elementary School.  As of today, there is one (1) registered student for the 2024-2025 school year. The VPK program at Miami Beach Fienberg Fisher K-8 has thirty-seven (37) families on the wait list for the 2024-2025 school year.  To accommodate up to 20 of the families at Miami Beach Fienberg Fisher K-8, which shows the highest demand for VPK seats, this amendment to the existing interlocal agreement will move the city funded VPK class from Biscayne Beach Elementary to Miami Beach Fienberg Fisher K-8 for the 2024-2025 school year.

The full-day VPK program at Miami Beach Fienberg Fisher K-8, which has traditionally been funded through Title I, provided a free full day of VPK; however, the loss of Title I funds converts the VPK classes to parental/guardian fee based for extended school hours beyond those funded by the State.  The full-day VPK program will require a fee of approximately $15 per day for students who desire to remain at school from 11:20 a.m. to 1:50 p.m. for a full day.  The City of Miami Beach funded VPK class will provide a free alternative for twenty (20) of the Miami Beach resident families who may not be able to pay the cost of the full-day program.   All 37 families currently registered for the VPK program at Miami Beach Fienberg Fisher K-8 are Miami Beach residents.

Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, these funds will be allocated to the City's PreK scholarship program to increase the number of scholarships by approximately fifteen allowing families to select their child's prekindergarten provider from a variety of provider partners.