Delays on School Chief Draw Fire

The Los Angeles Board of Education on Wednesday shook off public pressure to immediately appoint the district’s highest-ranking Latino as the next superintendent, deciding instead to spend time considering its options.

The decision not to name Deputy Supt. Ruben Zacarias touched off angry protests from Latino activists, who vowed to express their displeasure with drastic measures, which they said could include keeping children out of school or trying to recall board member David Tokofsky, who represents a majority Latino district.

“I think it’s outrageous,” said Alan Clayton, an officer with the Los Angeles County Chicano Employees Assn. “Obviously some of the board members perceive that the Latino community doesn’t have the votes to throw them out of office . . . so they can just be ignored.”

School reformers, on the other hand, lauded the board for taking more time with a decision they consider crucial now that nearly half of the district’s campuses have entered the program to grant self-governance to schools, known as LEARN.

“If a broader, open, competitive process begins to evolve, I’m extremely encouraged,” said LEARN Director Mike Roos. “If the community is asked to become involved in this process, I’m ecstatic.”

Within the next week, the board intends to begin weighing issues such as whether to conduct a local or a nationwide search for the post that came open last week, when Supt. Sid Thompson announced that he will resign when his contract expires in June 1997.

Board members made it clear that they had not ruled out eventually appointing Zacarias, a 30-year district veteran who lost his bid for the top job three years ago to Thompson, the first African American to hold the post. They said they simply want to spend at least a month establishing their vision for the job and considering alternatives for filling it.

Victoria Castro--the board’s only Latina representative--said she was disappointed that her proposal during a closed-door meeting to elevate Zacarias did not have the four-vote majority support she had expected.

“I think there was an urgency expressed by the community, and I tried to express that point to the board,” Castro said. “I would be less than truthful if I didn’t say I was displeased.”

Coincidentally, the two-hour board meeting began at the same time as a monthly meeting of the district’s bilingual commission, and protesters mingled with the more than 100 people present at that gathering. Together they chanted the same message delivered before Monday’s board meeting: “Si se puede”--Yes, we can. “Zacarias, Zacarias, Zacarias.”

Board President Mark Slavkin said he hoped that the decision to step back from the heat of the moment, and probably hold some public hearings on the topic, would silence any community outcry.

“We’re saying, ‘I’m willing to include you in every way, but I don’t want to be in a screaming match,’ ” Slavkin said.

Zacarias also called for calm, saying that while he “appreciated and admired” the outpouring of support, “they’ve made their point and [should] let it go at that.”

But within minutes of the decision, Latino community leaders vowed to redouble their efforts to force a decision in favor of Zacarias. They said they would determine which tactics to use at a meeting scheduled for 6 tonight at Our Lady of the Rosary of Talpa at 2914 E. 4th St.

In addition to the threat of recalling Tokofsky--a former high school teacher who beat a Latina parent by the narrowest of margins last spring--they said they might also exert pressure on other board members whom they consider reluctant. They named Slavkin and Jeff Horton.

Another option under consideration is asking parents to boycott schools and withhold their support from the LEARN program, which requires parental participation.

The likelihood that some protest would occur increased Wednesday as organizations that have a track record of mobilization got involved. Among those was the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and One Stop Immigration, an Eastside social service agency that in 1994 helped organize the largest public protest in Los Angeles history to oppose Proposition 187, the anti-illegal immigration initiative.

“There’s rampant disappointment in our community because of what happened today,” said Juan Jose Gutierrez, One Stop’s executive director. “I feel very confident that the community will respond.”

Although Zacarias’ backers say their support has more to do with his qualifications than his ethnicity, they acknowledge that they also believe it is time for a Latino to run a district in which 67% of the students are Latino. Only one other superintendent in district history--Bill Anton, who preceded Thompson--was Latino.

“It’s not only about language, it’s about culture and [Zacarias] grew up like us,” said Roberto Flores, a member of the district’s bilingual commission and parent of two Sylmar High students. “What’s it going to take? For us to be 100%?”

Those arguments echo comments made during last year’s race between Tokofsky--who is white and bilingual--and parent Lucia Rivera. Some district insiders say criticism in the superintendent selection battle has focused on Tokofsky because of lingering hard feelings over the outcome of that race, which he won by just 76 votes.

Tokofsky has repeatedly described himself as a Zacarias supporter, but said Wednesday that he would not commit in advance to hiring the deputy at the end of the selection process.

“I don’t think that’s fair to the process or to Dr. Zacarias,” he said.

Tokofsky’s similar explanation, delivered in Spanish to the bilingual committee after the board meeting closed, drew applause. But afterward, some participants were less laudatory.

“He was wishy-washy and didn’t take a stand on anything,” said Gina Alonso, chairwoman of Latinos for Excellence in Education, a group that has lobbied for Zacarias for many years. “I don’t have much respect for him.”