Schools Reel as Foes Play Down Dispute

Los Angeles Board of Education President Genethia Hayes and Supt. Ruben Zacarias, who are locked in a battle for control of the city’s public schools, on Wednesday downplayed their differences at a “town hall” meeting on education issues.

But back at the beleaguered Los Angeles Unified School District, their tussle was starting to take a toll, with missed deadlines on critical program decisions, jurisdictional disputes, distracting confusion and rock-bottom morale.

At a time when the district is facing such daunting issues as implementing standards-based promotion--the largest urban education reform program in U.S. history--district officials have no idea who has ultimate say over district operations.

Addressing hundreds of people Wednesday, Hayes and Zacarias each spoke of the need for management changes but only hinted at their weeklong dispute.

The two have been at odds over the appointment of former board member Howard Miller as chief executive, in charge of all district departments and divisions. Zacarias has refused to accept the board’s directive, instead telling his top deputies that he still controls day-to-day operations.

Few district officials would comment publicly about the chaos that has engulfed the top tiers of the district.

But Deputy Supt. Ron Prescott summed up the situation this way: “No one is acting in bad faith. They are just acting from their own positions of strength, which enhances disagreements. Now, worlds are colliding.”

Another top district administrator, who asked to remain anonymous, said, “There is so much instability we all feel endangered right now. We’re paralyzed. We’re all for the kids--we’ll do anything for them--but we’re losing our vision. We’re so bogged down with political issues that it’s getting hard to move forward.”

Another said, “We’re all trying to figure out where the bleeding stops. Is it with the top deputies? The contract employees? Senior administrative staff? Principals? Teachers? Kids?”

The confusion hit a week ago when the Board of Education in closed session hastily put Miller, a real estate attorney, in charge of daily district operations. Miller, who is supposed to answer only to Zacarias, also was charged with reorganizing management.

But Zacarias has refused to cut ties with his deputies, and he recently announced that he is completing his own plan to restructure management.

Now, the specter of dueling reorganization plans has middle managers throughout the sprawling district fearing for their careers.

“Having to deal with two different reorganization plans is more distressing than I can imagine,” said Becki Robinson, a vice president with United Teachers-Los Angeles. “Not only is there a major reorganization plan which may end up axing someone’s job--but there are two out there. It’s so terribly unfair to treat people that way.”

As if all that were not enough, the board failed to create a “chief executive” position for Miller to fill, or even a budget mechanism with which to pay him, leaving his status in technical limbo. There are even questions about the legality of the process by which he was appointed.

Forging ahead, Miller called his first staff meeting Wednesday. Except for one person who had to attend a funeral, all of those invited, including Zacarias, showed up.

“It was a productive meeting,” Miller said. “We talked about goals and programs.”

However, Zacarias’ personal attorney, Joseph Coyne Jr., on Wednesday sent a letter to board members challenging Miller’s appointment, as well as Hayes’ call for a public meeting Oct. 28 to reconsider it.

Facing an utter lack of clear leadership on high, district officials last Thursday decided to scrub a meeting scheduled to set timelines for implementation of their plan to end social promotion.

The meeting was rescheduled for today, but no one was sure that it would take place.

Separately, Los Angeles Unified Police Chief Wesley Mitchell is dealing with a jurisdictional dispute with top auditor Don Mullinax, who has claimed ultimate authority to investigate white-collar crime.

Mitchell declined to comment on the matter. His boss, Francis Nakano, deputy superintendent of operations and support services, also declined to elaborate.

But Nakano was clear about who he thinks is running the district.

“I’m sickened by this power grab and I will not serve two masters,” he said. “My loyalty is with Ruben Zacarias. He’s my boss.”

He has repeatedly conveyed a similar message to field staff who have been asking: “Who’s actually running things around here?”

On Wednesday, about 600 people flocked to the downtown meeting, expecting to watch a bloody fight between Hayes and Zacarias.

Instead, Hayes cordially stressed the need for an overhaul of the district’s management structure. Zacarias agreed that management is in bad shape, but called for a greater focus on delivering student programs and overall accountability.

“It’s a delicate time for the district,” Hayes said. “We need a well-defined management structure.”

“The best way to service the children is to focus on improving student achievement,” Zacarias said.

So it went for about 45 minutes until Ramona Opportunity School junior Linda Sabori, 17, stood up and asked what Hayes and Zacarias had to say about the fact that “there’s a room at my school called a library, but there are no books in there.”

The education leaders expressed dismay and offered apparently uninspiring solutions.

Later, Sabori expressed general dissatisfaction with both education leaders.

“They just talked and made promises,” she said. “Genethia is a good speaker, but we want action. Zacarias promised to spend district money better. If he sticks to what he said, that would make him the winner.”

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Audio of the complete Town Hall Los Angeles discussion on education is available on The Times’ Web site: https://www.latimes.com/townhall-la