Pressure Grows to Name Latino as L.A. Schools Chief

Latino activists increased pressure Monday for the immediate appointment of Deputy Supt. Ruben Zacarias to head the Los Angeles Unified School District, threatening to stage a recall campaign against one of the school board’s newest members if the district’s highest-ranking Latino is not promoted.

The top job, which opened a week ago when Supt. Sid Thompson announced he would resign in June 1997, was discussed for the first time Monday at a closed-door Board of Education meeting. No decisions were reached.

So far, only two board members have said they would vote right away to put Zacarias into the job, and a coalition of Latino organizations noted that board member David Tokofsky was not one of them.

John Fernandez, director of the district’s Mexican American Education Commission, characterized the talk of recalling Tokofsky as “very serious.”

“We know that David won by very few votes, people remember that,” Fernandez said. “I think that the community is looking to see where David really stands, if he’s really true to the community or true to UTLA [the teachers’ union].”

Tokofsky, a high school teacher endorsed by United Teachers-Los Angeles, was elected by a margin of just 76 votes in a June runoff against a Latina parent supported by most of the city’s Latino politicians.

His 5th District seat was redrawn in 1992 to increase Latino representation on the school board. It stretches from the northeast San Fernando Valley to the Eastside, an area with a Latino population of more than 70%.

Responding to criticism that he is ignoring the wishes of those constituents, Tokofsky said he would not rule out eventually supporting Zacarias, but wants first to conduct a broader search.

“I think I’ve been very supportive of Ruben,” he said. “But what I’m saying is that the board needs to set its qualifications and go through some kind of process.”

Concerns have been raised about whether Zacarias’ age--he is 66--and his three-decade tenure with the district would leave him poorly prepared for the next phase of school reform, in which power is to be transferred from district headquarters to schools.

Tokofsky has called for considering superintendent candidates from outside the district and perhaps outside education circles altogether--from private enterprise, for instance, or the military.

On Monday he clarified that position, saying that even if Zacarias were to take the top post, he would like to see outside replacements interviewed for the numerous department heads that form the district’s senior staff.

More than 75 parents and community advocates showed up before the closed-door session Monday. After reciting the pledge of allegiance with the board, they shouted their support for Zacarias in Spanish, borrowing a phrase from the late farm worker organizer Cesar Chavez, Si se puede--Yes, we can.

Alan Clayton, an officer with the Los Angeles County Chicano Employees Assn., said he joined the protesters because he was tired of waiting patiently for a Latino to head a school system in which 67% of the students are Latino.

Similar groups pushed for Zacarias in 1992, when Thompson was appointed interim superintendent, but backed away from their threats to hold children out of school if their candidate did not gain the job.

Thompson was the top deputy superintendent then, Clayton pointed out, the same position Zacarias now holds.

“The concern now is that here’s exactly the same situation, we have the No. 2 person, just like when Sid was No. 2, yet we’re not seeing the same kind of get-behind-No. 2 support,” he said. Thompson was 61 when he became superintendent.

Clayton, one of two architects of the redistricting plan that created the seat Tokofsky holds, said it was premature to talk about recalling the new board member.

“But I’m very upset with him,” he added. “Here’s his big chance, he should be cheerleading for Ruben, and he’s been silent.”

During the closed-door meeting after the protest, described variously as “collegial” and “heated,” board members decided to discuss the superintendent’s job again Wednesday. They also signaled their intent to honor Thompson’s contract through June 1997, rather than buying him out early, and expressed concern about moving quickly to name a replacement and avert a drawn-out political battle.

The board’s only Latina--Victoria Castro--expressed optimism that a majority of her colleagues would join her and support Zacarias, perhaps as early as Wednesday.

“I think that there are still three solid votes for my perspective and two more are possible,” said Castro, who voted for Thompson three years ago.