Parents, Teachers Demand Ouster of Embattled Head Start Program Official

Dozens of parents and teachers protested outside the offices of the Latin American Civic Assn. in San Fernando on Wednesday, calling for the ouster of the agency’s executive director and accusing her of fraud and mismanaging one of Los Angeles County’s largest Head Start child-care programs.

The demonstration came a week after protests prompted the agency’s board of directors to launch an internal investigation and the county Office of Education to pledge a more stringent audit of the organization, which is expected to be completed in a month.

Approximately 50 picketers marched back and forth at the corner of Parkside Drive and Bradley Avenue, chanting “stop the harassment.”

They said LACA Executive Director Irene Tovar and supervisors have been mistreating employees, some of whom have been fired.

They also accuse Tovar of running the program to benefit her political ambitions and of violating a union agreement by having one of the agency’s 24 school sites operate a triple shift as opposed to a standard double shift.

“We can stay silent no more about the heavy burden being shouldered by the kitchen staff, family service workers and the teachers,” said Dorothy Williams, president of the American Federation of Teachers Local 1475, which represents LACA instructors.

In an interview at her office, Tovar continued to defend her leadership, saying she is wrongfully blamed for the tension.

She said new federal standards, which take effect next year, require associate’s and bachelor’s degrees of at least half of the agency’s teachers, prompting some to fear for their jobs.

“When this is all over, it will show we are always committed to the children,” said Tovar, who addressed the board of directors in a meeting Tuesday evening by discounting the allegations.

Among the accusations against Tovar and the 300-member agency is a claim by teachers that they were pressured to lie about the number of volunteer hours parents have contributed at the schools.

For each hour documented, LACA receives a $15 funding credit. The in-kind contributions are then factored toward the agency’s obligation to match 20% of the $9.76 million it receives in annual federal funding.

Tovar, a well-known Democratic politician and a former aide to Jerry Brown when he was governor, openly opposed the San Fernando Valley secession movement.

She was criticized for allegedly using her position in LACA to campaign, a charge she denies.

Tovar took on directorship of the agency in 1993 when it was in jeopardy of losing its contract with the county Office of Education because of a large deficit. She said she has no plans to step down.

“No agency is perfect,” she said. “If things need to be corrected, I will do it.”