School Chief Loses Favor

Citing mostly fiscal concerns, the teachers union in the Santa Ana Unified School District has withdrawn its support for longtime Supt. Al Mijares two weeks before district trustees decide whether to extend his contract.

Tom Harrison, president of the Santa Ana Educators Assn., announced Monday that the union would press the five-member school board not to renew Mijares’ three-year contract, which expires at the end of June. The board is scheduled to vote on the renewal Jan. 25.

“Enough is enough,” Harrison said in a prepared statement. “Morale has collapsed; faith in the goodwill and competence of the district has collapsed.”

Union leaders decided to publicly abandon Mijares because of concerns over his financial management of the cash-strapped district, Harrison said. In March, teachers and administrators agreed to a temporary 4% pay cut to help the district close a $29-million funding shortfall. The salary cut is supposed to end next year, but Harrison said many teachers were concerned that, unless Mijares were replaced, the district would not have enough money to reinstate full salaries.

Harrison said the union decided, in part, to withdraw its backing after a recent survey of teachers showed diminishing support for the superintendent. About a third of the union’s 3,000 members responded to the survey, most giving Mijares poor marks on his management, communication and decision-making skills.

Saying that he “respected profoundly” teachers’ opinions, Mijares nonetheless defended his leadership and reaffirmed the district’s intention to eliminate the pay cut next year.

“We have made some very prudent decisions to make sure we are working within our means,” he said. “I must do the job that I am designated to do. That may mean making decisions that are not popular, but I have to make them.”

Mijares, in his 10th year as head of the 60,000-student district, declined to comment on whether he would accept another three-year contract from district trustees. Harrison said trustees who voted to retain Mijares risked losing support from the union during reelection bids.