Denver Public Schools (DPS) Superintendent Alex Marrero did not make the short list of candidates vying for the top job with the Miami-Dade County Public School District.

The Miami-Dade school board narrowed the field from 21 applicants to six semifinalists. The list includes two Miami-Dade administrators and four other education leaders from Florida, Texas and New Mexico.

Marrero was not among them.

“My former candidacy for the Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent position does not diminish my focus on Denver or the work we have led together,” Marrero said in a statement. “I entered that process as exactly who I am, with a record and a set of values I will never minimize, sanitize or rewrite for another opportunity.”

Under his leadership, the district has touted a return to pre-pandemic academic performance levels — progress Marrero and his team have publicly praised. Critics, meanwhile, noted that most DPS students still fall short of meeting state expectations in math and English, raising questions about how the district defines success.

During his tenure, Marrero has faced a string of controversies, including his handling of the East High School shooting, school closures, a nearly $100,000 corner office upgrade and annual cost-of-living increases he received while denying the same to teachers.

Marrero also asked the Board of Education to discuss the return of school resource officers in executive session, a meeting a judge later ruled was illegally held behind closed doors.

Before coming to Denver, Marrero served as interim superintendent for the City School District of New Rochelle, which is outside New York City and serves fewer than 10,000 students, according to the district’s website.

Miami-Dade is the third-largest school district in the United States with about 335,000 students in more than 500 schools and a budget of about $4 billion.

Marrero said in an email last month to the board of education that he had been “recruited” for the position.

Marrero has not explained what he meant by being “recruited.”

He has touted the district’s “green” status on the state’s district performance framework under his watch and reiterated his commitment to the upcoming school year.

Whoever takes the job in Miami will be facing similar issues as Denver with declining enrollment and school closures.

The U.S. has seen a significant decline in births since the Great Recession. That has meant fewer students in classrooms, leaving school districts across the country grappling with funding typically tied to enrollment.

Denver’s funding mix has shifted over the past two decades, with state support shrinking while local property taxes make up a growing share of the district’s revenue, a Denver Gazette audit review has found.

In 2005, a little more than a third of the district’s total revenue came from the state. Twenty years later, that share has fallen to about 17%. Over the same period, the share of district revenue from property taxes increased from about 58% to roughly three quarters today.

Board President Xóchitl Gaytán has said she was not surprised about Marrero’s interest in the job, saying that “he’s a well-sought out superintendent.”

Marrero has said that he has not previously applied for other superintendent opportunities.

Both jobs would have been a significant jump for Marrero. New York City Public Schools, the largest school district in the U.S., has more than 900,000 students and there are 316,200 students in Chicago Public Schools.

DPS, the largest school district in Colorado, has nearly 90,000 students and a budget of about $1.5 billion.