Leadership of Troubled Agency Quits : Education: Ten new members are appointed to governing board of Latin American Civic Assn., which runs Valley-area Head Start program.

After nearly a week of pressure from parents and teachers, the executive director and most of the board of directors of a beleaguered community agency running Head Start programs in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys have resigned.

A crowd of about 50 parents and staff members of the Latin American Civic Assn. applauded and shouted when it was announced Tuesday night that Ralph Arriola, who has run LACA for more than 15 years, and seven of the 11 board members had resigned and been replaced by 10 new members.

Nearly all of the new board members were part of the original founders of LACA, which was created nearly 30 years ago to improve educational opportunities for Latinos in the Valley.

The new board faces the challenge of overcoming LACA’s severe problems, which began last summer when county investigators found that the agency had violated federal regulations by renting office space and vans from its own employees, overpaid some staff members and engaged in nepotism.

Irene Tovar, a longtime community activist, was voted the new chairwoman of the board. A replacement for Arriola will not be immediately named, Tovar said.

Instead, Tovar said the board will focus on trying to persuade county officials to reverse their decision to strip LACA of its funding to run the Head Start program after June 30.

“We can make it happen,” Tovar told the new board. “We must mutually trust each other. We are here because we care about the kids.”

Shelli Yeoman, chairwoman of the parents advisory committee, stood next to Tovar after the board meeting and told awaiting parents and staff members that she plans to work with Tovar to save LACA.

“I feel confident with the new chairwoman, I feel comfortable with the new chairwoman,” she said. “Please forget the past and let’s move forward for the children.”

Tovar said she hopes that representatives of the new board, the parents committee and union members can arrange a meeting with county officials by Thursday.

County officials had scheduled a closed meeting today on LACA’s appeal of the lost funding, and were hoping to announce their decision on Thursday.

Mike Bower, a spokesman for the county Office of Education, which oversees the Head Start program for the county, said on Tuesday before the LACA board meeting that a change in the agency’s management could be looked upon favorably, but that LACA would still have to show that the new management could run the program effectively.

Bower said the county remains committed to keeping the programs open, even if it means that county officials temporarily take over the program.

Head Start provides meals, instruction and health services to nearly 1,800 mostly poor children in the two valleys.

The old LACA board of directors last week had voted to lay off 52 employees and impose a 12% salary cut for all remaining employees to make up the budget shortfall, but parents and employees immediately criticized the cuts, saying services and teachers were unfairly being sacrificed.

A parents advisory committee, which under federal guidelines must approve any budget cuts, has refused to sanction the board’s action, creating an impasse.

Even with a new board of directors, the agency must find a way to make up the $822,000 deficit before June 30. Without a new budget, sources say that the agency will not be able to meet its payroll after April 23.

The parents committee had called for the resignations of Arriola and three board members, including chairwoman Suzi Rodriguez. Parents and employees staged demonstrations in front of LACA’s office in San Fernando over the past few days.

In December, LACA was ordered to repay $104,700 in federal funds for some of those violations. Arriola acknowledged some of those violations, but denies personally profiting from them.