Martin Karp

Martin Karp was a member of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools school board in Florida, representing District 3. He left office on November 17, 2020.

Karp ran for election to the Miami-Dade County Public Schools school board to represent District 3 in Florida. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Karp completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Martin Karp was born in Miami Beach, Florida. He earned a high school diploma from Miami Beach Senior High School, a bachelor's degree from the University of Miami, a graduate degree from Syracuse University, and a graduate degree from the University of Miami. Karp's career experience includes working as an educator.^[1]

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Miami-Dade County Public Schools school board District 3

Joseph Geller defeated Martin Karp in the general election for Miami-Dade County Public Schools school board District 3 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Joseph Geller (Nonpartisan)	54.8	60,740
	Martin Karp (Nonpartisan)	45.2	50,021

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 110,761
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Miami-Dade County Public Schools school board District 3

Joseph Geller and Martin Karp defeated Gustavo Ortega, Hayley Ross, and Brent Latham in the primary for Miami-Dade County Public Schools school board District 3 on August 20, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joseph Geller (Nonpartisan)	32.7	9,381
✔		Martin Karp (Nonpartisan)	31.9	9,139
		Gustavo Ortega (Nonpartisan)	13.4	3,833
		Hayley Ross (Nonpartisan)	12.7	3,643
	Submit photo	Brent Latham (Nonpartisan)	9.3	2,661

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 28,657
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Michael Hepburn (Nonpartisan)
Enid Weisman (Nonpartisan)

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Karp in this election.

2016

See also: Miami-Dade County Public Schools elections (2016)

Two of the nine seats on the Miami-Dade County Public Schools school board were up for by-district general election on November 8, 2016. District 1 incumbent Wilbert Holloway filed for re-election and faced challengers James Bush and Steve Gallon in the primary election on August 30, 2016. Holloway and Gallon received enough votes in the primary to advance to the general election, and Gallon won the general. Four newcomers also vied for the District 6 seat in the primary: Modesto Abety, Gus Machado, Pedro Mora, and Maria Rojas. Abety and Rojas advanced to the general election, with Rojas winning the seat. The District 7 seat was also on the primary ballot. Incumbent Lubby Navarro defeated challenger Aster Mohamed, earning more than 50 percent of the vote and winning the seat outright. The seats of the District 3, 5, and 9 incumbents Martin Karp, Susana Castillo, and Lawrence Feldman were originally set to be on the primary ballot, but all three filed for re-election unopposed, and were automatically re-elected when the county's filing deadline passed and no challengers filed. The elections for their seats were canceled.^[2]^[3]

Results

Incumbent Martin Karp was the only candidate to file for this seat and was automatically re-elected.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools, District 3 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2016
Candidate
Martin Karp Incumbent (unopposed)

Funding

Karp reported $89,014.00 in contributions and $29.95 in expenditures to the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections, which left him with $88,984.05 cash on hand as of August 25, 2016.^[4]

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

Martin Karp completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Karp's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I have lived my entire life in District 3, and I have spent most of my professional life dedicated to education and our students in Miami-Dade County. I was born and grew up in Miami Beach, and graduated from Miami Beach Senior High. I was an elementary school gifted teacher for 13 years in M-DCPS before I sought elected office, and in that role helped launch the gifted program at Biscayne Beach Elementary.

I served 4 terms (16 consecutive years) as an elected official and member of the Miami-Dade County School Board for District 3 from 2004-2020, having been elected and re-elected 4 times, including twice without opposition. While on the School Board, I was selected by my colleagues as the Board's Vice-Chair during the 2006-2007, 2012-2013, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019 school years.

I am running for the school board, because I am passionate about education and have the recent classroom and school board experiences to propel our school district to new heights. My ability to work with others along with my extensive educational background makes me uniquely qualified for this position, and I feel compelled to serve. It makes perfect sense to contribute to a role I held where great results were achieved.

My wife of 21 years, Danielle, and I are the proud parents of Herschel, Benjamin and Samson Raphael. Together, we enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking (I’m an Eagle Scout), reading, attending synagogue, playing sports, and volunteering.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

My complete Plan of Action is on my website, martinkarp.com. Most importantly, my campaign has supporters in our community on both sides of the aisle who are committed to returning me to the Board, as a lifelong educator with a proven track record, and as someone who listens to people in a respectful way and works to keep politics out of school discussions and policies. To that end, my website has more than 200 written and video testimonials in support of my work on the Board and in my current job. These include, notably: students, teachers, principals, parents and parent advocates, community organizations, education leaders, elected officials (including one of my opponents in this race) and school and district administrators.
Three campaign policy points, in no particular order, include (1) ensuring that every student graduates with a skill whether it’s coding, robotics, automotive maintenance or another specialty, (2) working to expand afterschool programming so children are engaged in fun and meaningful supervised activities, and (3) advocating for Augmented Intelligence, which aims to enhance and support human intelligence as opposed to artificial intelligence. I would seek to emphasize teacher training from elementary to high school in all areas of technology to make Miami-Dade County Public Schools the Technology Hub in the State of Florida.
I’m incredibly proud of my record on the Board. I worked with our teachers, administrators, and staff to increase the M-DCPS high school graduation rates from 58.7 percent to 85.6 percent. I fought for greater resources for students who were classified as gifted, and for students with autism, ADHD, and special needs. I helped to expand choice programs for our students, I fought to remove antisemitism and all forms of hatred in our community and our schools, and I championed STEAM (science/technology/engineering/art/ math) education initiatives.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

While on the Board, I proffered agenda items for children with disabilities, gifted students, children in foster care, and students whose families faced foreclosure. I was proud to introduce numerous items addressing student health and safety. I committed to decreasing the number of high school dropouts and increasing graduation rates by introducing City Year, AVID and College Summit programs that have been embedded in schools across the district. I also created a working group with support from the Education Fund that united college representatives and promoted the recruitment of students who would otherwise have been overlooked for postsecondary educational opportunities.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

I am a firm believer that we should use all our talents and abilities to increase goodness. For 13 years, I taught in a Title I school (more than 80 percent of the students were on free/reduced lunch) where I also served as an ESE (Exceptional Student Education) Chair and was a teacher of the year. I earned a Doctorate in Educational Leadership. I know I can make a tremendous difference in the lives of our community’s children, teachers and parents, and have an immediate positive impact.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

See below re: primary job of School Board member.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Ultimately, I want my legacy to be someone who made a tremendous difference in the lives of our community’s children, teachers and parents. When I left the board in 2020, my successor presented me with a unanimous proclamation (the 40+ minute recording can be viewed at martinkarp.com). Also, at the website are 200+ written testimonials from our community on the impact of my previous service.

What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?

There are two primary jobs of a School Board member: (1) to work to make a tremendous difference in the lives of our community's children, teachers, and parents by addressing constituent concerns, and (2) to work with district staff at the Board level to enact policy.

During my previous service on the Board, I took each child’s struggle to heart. I did not see that we had a 350,000 “student body” at that time in the district, but I saw that we had 350,000 individuals, and I saw each teacher as someone who could change lives for the better. I recognized how each teacher needed to feel fulfilled and be afforded the proper level of respect and pay. When I started on the board teacher’s salary was ranked the lowest by the time I left we rose up to the middle. There is still work to be done on salary and housing options for teachers.

At the Board level, I never missed a committee meeting day or a board meeting in 16 years. I most likely have the highest passing rate of getting my initiatives voted up. I had over 100 agenda items that passed. I am committed to putting back in the time required to do a great job, and to keep the focus on student achievement, not on politics.

Who are your constituents?

My constituents are all the people who reside in District 3 -- communities from Coconut Grove north to Golden Beach. This is regardless of age, whether they have children, or whether they have children in public schools. While the core responsibilities of a School Board member focus on K-12, there are, in fact, many adult education programs for seniors and parents provided by the Miami-Dade School District.

How would you support the diverse needs of your district’s students, faculty, staff, and community?

For 16 years, I proffered more than 100 initiatives on the School Board, which were educational, not political. These initiatives were specifically written by me to provide academic and social support for students with special needs and dual exceptionalities, along with those who were college bound or more vocational oriented. Initiatives also addressed students who were gifted and talented, and the need for hands-on learning. Programs for students at or below the poverty level were also emphasized during my tenure, and great care was taken to address all students as unique individuals based on their areas of interest whether in music, the arts or the sciences. Agenda items were also presented by me to provide more professional development for our teachers, and it was a priority to increase compensation and benefits for teachers and staff.

How will you build relationships with members of the broader community? Which groups, organizations, stakeholders will you specifically target?

As a district, we must utilize and expand partnerships with local municipalities, foundations, and businesses in our public-school programs to bring more resources to our students and teachers.

To expand district partnerships, for example, we should work with technology companies to offer training and resources to make M-DCPS the education Technology Hub for Florida. We must also utilize our community partners to ensure M-DCPS teachers are well-treated and compensated like professionals. For example, exploring affordable housing opportunities to help with teacher recruitment/retention.

What constitutes good teaching? How will you measure this? How will you support advanced teaching approaches?

Good teaching—being a great listener, prepared ahead of time in lesson planning, recognizing individual learners rather than a one-sized fits all approach. Pre and post testing, also measure with qualitative data (student questionnaires). Advanced teaching approaches get support through additional professional development opportunities and training. Positive reinforcement.

In what areas would you like to expand curriculum? For example, do you see a need for advanced technical training or apprenticeships? What sort of innovative programming would you advance if given the opportunity?

Science and hi-tech companies, internships with Bascom Palmer and the cruise ship industry. We need to bring back our vocational tech programs and ensure that each student graduates with a skill (i.e. automotive maintenance, coding, robotics).

What strategies or plans would you advance to ensure the schools are properly funded?

Funding— as a district, we must work with the state rather than be combative, and make it clear that M-DCPS is perhaps the largest economic engine in the state of Florida.

What principles drive your policies for safety in schools?

During my previous tenure on the Miami-Dade School Board, I fought to keep our kids safe:

• Added 350+ new school resource officers
• Active shooter training for school personnel
• Implementation/monitoring of 18,000+ cameras at district and school sites
• Hardened classrooms
• Creation of a M-DCPS mental health department
• Creation of Police Command for all safety/security events
• Authored multiple Board items to support victims of child abuse and child sexual abuse

• Sponsored training for district personnel to prevent child abuse and child sexual abuse

How might you support the mental health needs of students/faculty/staff?

See above re: school safety.

What existing district policies would you like to change, or what new policies would you like to implement?

Please visit martinkarp.com for my Complete Plan of Action.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

My campaign has supporters in our community on both sides of the aisle who are committed to returning me to the Board, as a lifelong educator with a proven track record, and as someone who listens to people in a respectful way and works to keep politics out of school discussions and policies. Please visit martinkarp.com for the more than 200 written and video testimonials in support of my work on the Board and in my current job. These include, notably: students, teachers, principals, parents and parent advocates, community organizations, education leaders, elected officials (including my opponent in this race) and school and district administrators.

Describe your ideal learning environment for students.

My recent classroom experiences have reinforced my knowledge that children who struggle can reach their full potential if the proper learning environments are created for them. Our mission as a district must be to work together to reach all children. My campaign is about keeping the focus on education, while serving as a unifying force for bringing people together for the best interests of all our stakeholders.

Every child is unique and learns differently, so the ideal learning environment is different for every child. However, certain principles apply across the board: supportive, nurturing, challenging and based on each student’s area of passion. What is ideal for one is not ideal to another except for the affective mindset (caring, etc.). Hands-on, mistakes are accepted. Outside the traditional four walls (i.e. field trips).

How do you feel like your school district handled the coronavirus pandemic? What, if anything, would you do differently in the future?

I actually proffered a Board item in February 2020 (before COVID hit South Florida) regarding COVID protocols and an action plan (see martinkarp.com). Ultimately, it's important for the district to learn from previous mistakes.

What will you do to build a relationship with parents in the district?

During my time on the Board, I listened to people in a respectful way, and all constituents received a response from my office within 24 hours (or less). Many of my policy initiatives resulted from input provided by teachers, parents, students and other stakeholders. That will continue if I am returned to the Board. I spent countless hours in District 3 schools, meeting with teachers, parents, students, and administrators – something I am also doing on my campaign. To that end, in 2020, I received a Lifetime Legacy Award from the Miami-Dade County Council of PTA/PTSAs, which is composed of 50,000 PTA/PTSA members, serving more than 350,000 students and their families. Whoever occupies this seat must commit to being in District 3 schools (and other district schools) to hear directly from the community or that person cannot do the job effectively.

What are your preferred strategies for faculty, staff, and administration recruitment?

At the end of the day, as a lifelong educator and classroom teacher, I believe that teachers and administrative staff are highly qualified professionals and we have to appreciate and compensate them with this in mind. Tallahassee has approved teacher salary increases (totaling $4.6 billion) in each of the last five years, including 1.25 billion in this year’s budget, so we are getting some support from the state, but as a district, we can and must do more to bring our teachers and staff closer to the national average, especially given the high cost of living and working Miami-Dade County. Additionally, on July 1 of this year, SB 7002 goes into effect, which gives district school boards a number of important tools for talent retention, including authorizing boards to: (1) develop and adopt their own policies relating to mentors and support for first-time teachers; and (2) use advanced degrees for salary adjustments when setting salary schedules for instructional personnel or school administrators. I would support MDCPS utilizing these changes in the law to make our district more competitive in attracting and retaining our education professionals. Finally, while serving on the Miami-Dade School Board from 2004-2020, I authored and supported a number of items to support our educators, including items aimed directly at teacher and staff recruitment and retention. During my time on the Board, MDCPS was the only district in the tri-county area not to eliminate any teaching positions and I supported the creation of teaching academies to provide a much-needed pipeline to our schools. All of this will continue if I am returned to the Board.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Candidate

Miami-Dade County Public Schools school board District 3

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 7, 2024
↑ Miami-Dade County Elections, "Candidate Reports," accessed August 25, 2016, and October 10, 2016
↑ Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections, "November 8, 2016 General Election," accessed November 8, 2016
↑ Miami-Dade County Elections, "Candidate Reports," accessed August 25, 2016

[1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 7, 2024

[candidates-2] Miami-Dade County Elections, "Candidate Reports," accessed August 25, 2016, and October 10, 2016

[results-3] Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections, "November 8, 2016 General Election," accessed November 8, 2016

[4] Miami-Dade County Elections, "Candidate Reports," accessed August 25, 2016

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Martin Karp

Contents

Biography

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Miami-Dade County Public Schools school board District 3

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Miami-Dade County Public Schools school board District 3

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

2016

Results

Funding

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

2024 Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

Get Engaged

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