Miami-Dade schools CFO Ron Steiger leaves for Barry University
Ron Steiger is leaving Miami-Dade schools for Barry University as the district faces falling enrollment, midyear budget cuts and a July 22 decision on an interim finance chief.
Barry University will bring in Ron Steiger as its vice president of business and finance and chief financial officer on Aug. 10, ending a long run at Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
Steiger spent nearly two decades with Miami-Dade schools and oversaw a $7.4 billion budget that touched finance, budgeting, treasury, procurement, risk management, grants, payroll and compliance. He also helped guide annual audits that produced clean opinions, strengthened treasury and investment operations, supported credit rating upgrades and managed federal stimulus funding after the COVID-19 pandemic. Before entering district finance, Steiger worked in strategy and analytics at Leo Burnett and Arthur Andersen, and he holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools had 313,000 students in the 2025-26 school year, 13,200 fewer than the year before. The district's budget was $100 million smaller than the previous year before administrators made another $89 million reduction midway through the school year, and officials have warned of a possible additional $52 million cut in the next budget cycle. The district also asked lawmakers for $21 million in one-time aid to help offset the enrollment drop.
Jose Dotres credited Steiger with financial transparency and with keeping school-level services at the center of budget planning. Ninety-six percent of the district's budget goes directly into school-level services. A 2025-26 budget release put 76.2% of the budget toward teaching and direct student services and 19.8% toward custodial, security and other school-level services. The release put the district's 2025-26 millage rate at 6.633, down from 6.699 the prior year.
Barry University president Mike Allen praised Steiger’s leadership and said it fit Barry’s future-planning approach, while Steiger said the university’s mission and service orientation mattered to him.
The School Board is expected to consider administrative appointments at its July 22 meeting. An agenda item lists district treasurer Margarita Betancourt as the proposed interim CFO if the board approves the move, with a salary range of $125,020 to $224,950.
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