500 Rally at School District Offices to Support Zacarias

About 500 mostly Latino supporters of Supt. Ruben Zacarias rallied at the Los Angeles Unified School District’s headquarters Friday, even as school board members moved toward a possible compromise in the furor over their appointment of a chief executive.

Board members agreed to drop new CEO Howard Miller’s original title for one of chief operating officer, which usually signifies a lower level in the corporate chain of command.

Miller, a real estate attorney and former board member, last week was put in charge of all district divisions and departments and was ordered to reorganize district management.

That hastily approved move in closed session was seen by many as an attempt to cut off the superintendent from the district’s day-to-day affairs.

After protests from the community, board members agreed this week to reconsider Miller’s appointment at a meeting Thursday, one called to include public comment on the decision and to make his selection more palatable to Latino community leaders and elected officials.

Although the agreement to change Miller’s title was seen by some as an opening for continued negotiations, board President Genethia Hayes said the board was not prepared to change the chain of command.

She also encouraged Zacarias and Miller to negotiate, but said the problem “has to be resolved next week.”

“We can’t be frozen in time,” Hayes said. “If Zacarias really wants to be at the head of the district, he’ll get in a room with Miller and work this out.”

In an interview Friday, however, the superintendent compared Miller to a “de facto superintendent” and said changing Miller’s title without trimming his authority was “absolutely unacceptable.”

Zacarias’ fight to keep his job has become a cause celebre among Latinos, leading to Friday’s rally downtown.

Organizers had predicted a larger turnout--perhaps as many as 1,000--but insisted they were pleased with the size of the crowd. Elected officials and parents at the rally emphasized that the controversy surrounding Miller’s appointment is a “Latino issue” only in the sense that the district is made up of mostly Latino students and parents.

Alongside several Latino legislators rallying the crowd were Los Angeles City Council members Nate Holden, Rita Walters and Jackie Goldberg.

Not everyone was united in believing that Zacarias must keep his job at all costs.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina acknowledged that the board has the voting power to terminate Zacarias’ contract. “If they make the decision that Ruben Zacarias is to no longer head up this school district, they have to include us in the public process of selecting a new superintendent,” she said.

But even suggesting that the superintendent might be forced out drew immediate cries of “Viva Zacarias!”

Through a translator, Joyce Dong spoke on behalf of about 50 Korean American parents at the rally to demand that Zacarias be given back full authority.

To them, the superintendent has been the best link to the district in years, she said.

“Dr. Zacarias has been very supportive of Korean Americans during his tenure,” Dong said. Most Korean immigrants “came to America thinking their kids would get a better education,” she said.

“But Los Angeles seems to have a worse educational system than Korea,” she added. “The way to improve it is to support the superintendent in his job. Unlike others in the past, he has given special attention to all minorities in the district.”

Sylvia Valencia, who lives in South-Central and has three children in elementary and junior high school, said Zacarias has been a ray of hope in a district that has allowed her children to go without textbooks and proper bathroom facilities for years.

“I’m frustrated with the conditions,” she said, describing textbooks that date back to the 1960s. “But it’s not his fault. He inherited these problems. Under his tenure, the test scores at Miramonte Elementary have gone up. Things have gotten better for us since he came.”

Hector Villagra, an attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said his agency has threatened to sue the district if it does not rescind Miller’s appointment, which MALDEF alleges was done in violation of state open meetings laws.

If by next month “we don’t feel they are satisfying the requirements of the Brown Act or other state statutes, we will seek an injunction against that act,” Villagra said.

Zacarias Says He Is Prepared to Sue

And on Friday, for the first time, Zacarias also warned that he is prepared to file a lawsuit to protect his position.

“This situation is very much of a distraction and very upsetting,” Zacarias said during a tour of Ramona Opportunity High School. “I have no intention of stepping down. If we have to, we’ll continue down the legal path and let the courts decide.”

Hayes said in an interview that the board had no choice but to act swiftly and decisively to save a district she says is “spinning out of control.”

As for the change in his title, Miller would say only: “I’m still looking forward to working on all the problems in the district.”

Board member Mike Lansing said he agreed to the title change in hopes of easing tension.

“If it’s a name change that is needed to bring the two of them to the mount, so be it,” he said.

“The superintendent and everybody else has to understand we are committed to having Miller run the business of this district,” Lansing said, “and to the superintendent remaining superintendent. But that can only occur if everybody is on the same page.”

Board member Victoria Castro, who opposed Miller’s appointment, accused the board of trying to cover its legal tracks by tinkering with words.

On Friday, Miller met his first deadline imposed by the board, delivering a memo on how to handle the duties of nine employees who were recommended for discipline in the district auditor’s report on the Belmont Learning Complex.

The memo, which will be considered in closed session Tuesday, advised the board to place seven of the employees on administrative leave pending review of possible discipline under Civil Service procedures, sources said. District officials said the review could take several months.

The other two recommended for discipline, general counsel Richard K. Mason and chief administrative officer David Koch, are negotiating with the board on buyout packages, sources said.

Times education writer Doug Smith contributed to this story.