Supt. Zacarias Should Say No

Reform-minded members of the Los Angeles school board have little chance of prevailing, but they still should oppose extending the contract of Supt. Ruben Zacarias for a year beyond its expiration in July 2000. Today’s school board meeting is the final session for three lame duck members; it is wrong for them to determine how long the superintendent keeps his job. There appears to be only one person who can stop this process: Zacarias himself.

The decision should be left to the new board being sworn in July 1. Otherwise, its relationship with Zacarias will be off to a very rocky start. Newcomers Genethia Hayes, Mike Lansing and Caprice Young will form a new reform majority with veteran David Tokofsky. This team opposes the clubby old way, driven more by politics and personal ties than by what is best for children. If Zacarias too is committed to breaking the district’s bad old habits, he should reject the offer of a contract extension. If he has faith in his ability to do his job well, with a board that’s willing to stop micromanaging, then all he has to do is tell the board that an extension is unnecessary. Surely he’s willing to be judged later on his performance.

The attempt to push through a major decision before new school board members take office--the seven members hold staggered terms and no more than four are elected at one time--is nothing new. On June 29, 1995, before George Kiriyama and Tokofsky were sworn in, the board voted to extend by two years the contract of then-Supt. Sid Thompson.

Outgoing board member Kiriyama made the motion to extend Zacarias’ contract. He has been a steady supporter of the superintendent, but even so, his timing is hard to swallow. As Times staff writer Louis Sahagun has reported, the superintendent talked to Kiriyama about a job as a school principal for Kiriyama just days before the board member proposed the contract extension. Both men claim the conversation was coincidental. Perhaps that’s true, but the perception that a quid pro quo mentality drives many decisions in the school district has only been strengthened.

Kiriyama expects to get the four votes needed to pass his motion. Barbara Boudreaux and Jeff Horton, who also were turned out by the voters, have indicated they will vote yes. So too will board President Victoria Castro, who has been Zacarias’ most persistent backer.

The departing board members, along with Castro, apparently can’t resist one last bad decision. But Zacarias doesn’t have to be part of it. He’s said repeatedly that he supports reform and wants to change the way the district does its business. This is the supreme test of that commitment. Supt. Zacarias: Just say no.