by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright October 17, 1999
All Rights Reserved.

ttempting a dramatic end run, Los Angeles Board of Education performed some mighty fancy footwork to usurp the authority and position of Ruben Zacarias, superintendent of Los Angeles Unified School District. With the costly Belmont Learning Complex and South Gate ecological boondoggles looming large and with widespread disappointments in the district’s performance, the school board sought a back door exit to a political minefield — how to terminate Zacarias’ contract without antagonizing the Hispanic community. "Any attempt to oust Zacarias would be met with massive demonstrations," promised Sacramento power broker Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles). Minimizing the political fallout, Mayor Riordan-backed board members Genethia Hayes and Valerie Fields adopted a clever strategy and hired ex-school board member Howard Miller as the district’s new CEO.

       "All other departments, divisions and units of every kind of the LAUSD will report to Mr. Miller as CEO and to no one else, and will be under his complete authority," proclaimed the ambitious school board, in effect undermining the superintendent’s contract. Following this course, the board may have unlawfully violated and rewrote their own bylaws which clearly establish the superintendent as the supreme and final authority in the district. Reacting to the move a stunned Zacarias said, "The notion that [top district managers] no longer have direct access to me is unacceptable," highlighting the fact that the board overreached its authority. "It’s a clear cut attempted coup by a shadowy corporate elite entity, and we won’t stand for it. The appropriate authorities will clarify that to these board members," commented State Sen. Polanco. Mayor Riordan and key members of the City Council emphatically denied any role in the move to either oust Zacarias or hire Miller.

       "This is an attack on the whole Latino community and a blatant political power grab," railed Sigfredo Lopez, a member of the district’s bilingual-bicultural committee, underscoring the ethnic sensitivities. While it’s true that Zacarias is Hispanic, there’s scant evidence to suggest that the board’s move is racially motivated. Even Hispanic board member Victoria Castro expressed grave concerns about the board violating proper procedures under Brown v. Board of Education, but nothing about racial bias. Without the ethnic issues, there’s plenty of grounds to protest the arbitrary manner in which the board acted to invent and hire Miller as CEO. Echoing this view, state senator Richard Alacon (D-Sylmar) said, "Like it or not, the superintendent of schools is in my mind the chief executive officer and the board has to contend with this reality."

       While it’s disturbing that the nation’s second largest school district has received such poor marks, it’s also unrealistic to expect any bureaucrat — no matter how motivated or well intentioned — to fix endless layers of fossilized bureaucracy responsible for the district’s problems. Rooting out waste, fraud and mismanagement doesn’t happen overnight. Nor can you expect any one crusader to upend tenured management employees, whose positions were entrenched and protected by the LAUSD bureaucracy for many years. Pouncing on the Belmont Learning Complex fiasco as proof of Zacarias’ incompetence seems disingenuous, misguided and unrealistic. If the board and City officials recruited the wrong candidate, then they should correct the mistake without exposing the district to further liability.

       "If the board wants Ruben out," said a high-ranking, but unnamed, district official, "they should just tell him so and buy out his contract." Fearing political repercussions in any community or ethnic group is no excuse for resorting to camouflaged game playing and manipulation. Risking legal exposure by violating existing contracts and causing hostile working conditions isn’t the best use of tax payers’ money. It only leads to costly severance packages and wasteful law suits. Everyone wants improvements in public education. But the board’s oblique attempt to deal with a difficult situation made a bad situation worse.

       Panicking about the district’s age-old problems doesn’t promote cool and collected decision making. Howard Miller — no matter how gifted and highly regarded — is no savior. No outsider, or insider, is going to miraculously reverse years of waste, fraud and mismanagement. If the board believes they need a new superintendent then for heaven sakes take the high road, buy out the contract, appoint a temporary successor, and begin the search. By engaging in cryptic maneuvers, the board is wasting precious tax dollars on repairing damage caused by their own hands. Yes, changes need to made. But blaming the superintendent for the district’s long-standing woes flies in the face of common sense. Taking a step backward, it’s easy to recalculate where the school board went wrong. City officials shouldn’t be pressing their agendas through independent board members commissioned with objectively assessing what’s good for the school district. Both mayor Riordan and his anointed successor, Steven Soboroff, saw the Mullinax audit and Belmont Learning Complex and South Gate fiascoes as the last straw. Who, but the superintendent, should be held accountable?

       According to chief auditor Don Mullinax, senior district officials were aware of the ecological problems at the Belmont Learning Complex. If one of those officials was Supt. Ruben Zacarias, then he should pay the price. "Resign or be fired immediately," remarked state Senator Tom Hayden, in reference to the 9 key district employees named in Mullinax’s audit. Though the critical report stopped short of calling for the superintendent’s resignation, it still held key management employees accountable. No one disputes the right of the school board to change its own management — including the superintendent. Facing the problem squarely requires dealing with all repercussions, including stepping on some peoples’ toes. Like a good surgeon, the board must diagnose the problem, operate dispassionately, and deal with the side-effects. Half measures — like inventing new jobs and reinventing the wheel — just won’t get it done.

About the Author

John M. Curtis is editor of OnlineColumnist.com. He’s also the director of a West Los Angeles think tank specializing in human behavior, health care and political research and media consultation. He’s a seminar trainer, columnist and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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