Zacarias’ Latino Backers Vent Outrage at Board

Outraged by what they see as a personal attack on a local hero, Latino supporters of schools Supt. Ruben Zacarias were making themselves heard Friday, with activists vowing street demonstrations and state Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) planning hearings on the removal of Zacarias from daily management of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Stressing that his actions “are not about race, they are about stability, process and credibility,” Polanco said he would subpoena school board President Genethia Hayes and others if they do not cooperate by explaining their appointment of a chief executive to essentially make decisions in place of Zacarias.

Polanco also warned of possible financial and legal penalties levied against the district by state agencies if Zacarias is forced out of office.

Zacarias’ authority was severely compromised Tuesday when, in closed session, the board hastily moved to appoint real estate attorney Howard Miller to become the district’s new chief executive.

The board, which reportedly was frustrated with Zacarias’ performance in other areas, had received alarming reports about environmental problems at the site of two proposed schools in South Gate. On a 4-2 vote, it gave Miller control over all district departments and divisions.

“Miller is in no way, shape or form qualified to run the entire district,” Polanco said at a news conference. The legislator called for rescinding Miller’s appointment on the grounds that it violated the trustees’ earlier promise to the State Allocation Board that his authority would be restricted to the facilities division.

On the basis of that assurance, Polanco said, the Allocation Board granted the district $278 million for school improvements.

“We will be holding hearings in Sacramento on this appointment process. If they refuse to show up, we’ll subpoena them,” he said in an interview later. “If this is not corrected, you will begin to see proposals that the district fall under receivership” as part of an effort to wrest control from the board.

But responding to questions Friday about the process the board followed, Hayes said:

“Let’s try to keep our eye on the ball here. . . . We are talking about 700,000 youngsters who do not have textbooks, and if they do, they’re old and out of date.

“We have another toxic nightmare that’s happening in a neighborhood that desperately needs schools to relieve overcrowding,” she said. “What we’re talking about is a district that is not just mismanaged, it’s a district that has no management structure at all.”

Miller seemed similarly unfazed by the threat of hearings.

“I welcome the opportunity to testify before Polanco’s committee or any other, so that I can testify not only about the process of the appointment but the reason for it,” he said. “That reason is a complete failure of management that required a new management structure and that has resulted in the destruction of the lives of hundreds of thousands of students.”

But angry and frustrated Latino activists and community leaders were preparing to stage rallies in support of Zacarias.

Talk of Campaign to Keep Pupils Home

Some geared up for a campaign to saturate Spanish-language television and radio programs with recommendations that children be kept home from school in the event that the superintendent is forced to step down.

It was open to debate, however, whether demonstrations and marches would materialize, let alone work to Zacarias’ advantage even in a district whose enrollment is about 70% Latino. Proposition 187, which would have denied public education and most government-funded health care to illegal immigrants, sparked massive student walkouts in 1994. But the reaction to the passage of Proposition 227, the anti-bilingual education measure approved by voters in 1998, was tepid.

Some say, however, that the attack on Zacarias is being perceived as an attack on Latinos in general.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina on Friday said, “I don’t want to see walkouts, but there’s a lot of hostility brewing in the Latino community over this.

“If there is disruption, the first people they’ll call to quell it will be myself and Polanco,” she added. “I just wonder why no one called us before making this appointment. We’re part of the leadership in this community.”

Activist Gina Alonso, who pushed hard for Zacarias to become superintendent two years ago, said, “I foresee demonstrations and kids not going to school, because what this board has done is illegal.”

In predominantly Latino Boyle Heights, showing support for Zacarias was a focal point of the morning chatter among parents shepherding their children to school.

“If Ruben goes, my two daughters stay home from school in protest,” said Pedro Vicarra as he walked past Roosevelt High School. “What the board is doing is not right. Zacarias has worked hard for this community and its children.”

Petra Arreola added: “Same goes for my three kids. Zacarias has always been there for us.”

Around the corner, store owner Estella Ponce said: “We’ll hit the streets if they remove him. Kids will stay home from school in protest. Why? Because Ruben Zacarias wants to help Latinos get ahead in life. But some people don’t want to see that happen.”

A news conference held Friday on the steps of South Gate High School turned into a tense face-off, with board members Hayes, Valerie Fields and Mike Lansing, along with Miller, confronting questions primarily from Latino community members and fellow trustee Victoria Castro, who supports Zacarias.

The parents were concerned that the board’s actions will set back the construction of the schools in South Gate--a project that parents say has already been delayed far too long.

The trustees wanted to discuss the situation involving Zacarias and Miller and to ensure that the board is sending the “right message out to those of you who are concerned about the school system here in Los Angeles,” Hayes said.

“This is an action that was taken by the school board because we understand that we have a system that is badly broken and needs to be mended,” she said. “And we feel that this is the way that we can provide the superintendent with all of the help and all the support he needs.”

As Hayes spoke, some in the crowd began clapping in rhythm, and a chant started, “Si, se puede” (Yes, it can be done). But the applause was disruptive, not a demonstration of support.

“We know there are people who don’t want to hear the truth,” Miller said when it was his turn at the podium.

He posed a challenge to those in the crowd: “Everyone was applauding before. I’d like the people to raise their hands who are satisfied with the education and the facilities for the education of their children in this area.”

No hand went up.

“So set aside your concerns and the symbolism of one man whom we all love . . . and help us by supporting this management [change] to bring to your children the education that they should have.”

When the board members opened the floor to questions, one of the first came from Castro.

“Why was South Gate chosen for this press conference?” she asked. “Was it because you don’t like my position? Because no one gave me the courtesy to let me know this press conference was here. I think that’s appropriate procedure. . . . Why was I not, as the elected representative of this district, notified of this press conference?”

Miller responded: “What I have to say is really more important than these procedural questions of pride and notification. We came here because the truth of the matter is you have deeper problems here than any place [else] in the district, and to help with these problems we need these management changes.”

After the meeting, board members left through the doors of the school, escaping more questions from parents and reporters. In an interview later, Miller said, “It’s difficult for me to believe that parents or anyone else would deny their children an education over the career of any single individual.”

Zacarias’ insistence that he still had direct authority over the district’s chain of command befuddled top managers who found themselves reporting to both the superintendent and Miller in an effort to conduct day-to-day operations.

On Thursday, Zacarias had told his executive staff that they answered to him. A day earlier, Zacarias’ lawyer questioned Miller’s ability to serve over certificated staff given that he does not have an administrative credential himself.

Hayes said the reach of Miller’s authority could not be clearer. “Dr. Zacarias is the superintendent,” she said. “Howard Miller reports to him. Everybody else reports to Howard Miller. There’s no confusion.”

“Genethia’s wrong,” Zacarias’ personal attorney, Joseph Coyne Jr., said in a telephone interview.

“Everyone knows an illegal action by a governmental body has no cause and effect,” Coyne said. “Unless the board retracts its action, a court will have to decide whether the action was unlawful and whether they breached a contract.”

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Times education writer Richard Lee Colvin contributed to this story.