Supt. McKenna Claims Board Member Violated His Rights

George McKenna, superintendent of schools in the Inglewood Unified School District, has accused school board member Zyra McCloud of calling him a liar in public and subjecting him to obscenities during closed board meetings.

In a strongly worded memorandum that some district officials speculated could be laying the groundwork for a lawsuit, McKenna told McCloud and the other four board members that her “repetitive offensive behavior and profane language” are a violation of his civil and employee rights and have caused him undue stress that has affected his health and work performance.

The memo, dated Nov. 27, describes a Nov. 15 executive session in which McKenna says other board members stepped between him and McCloud during a particularly heated confrontation.

In a second memo, dated Nov. 29 and sent to board President Larry Aubry, McKenna also criticized McCloud for taking a group of citizens, one with a video camera and another with a still camera, to Morningside High School to verify reports from parents that the school was in disrepair. McKenna called the Nov. 14 visit “disruptive to the normal educational process.”

McCloud, a frequent critic of McKenna who won her board seat in 1987 after years as a parent activist, denied in an interview Tuesday that she used profanity toward McKenna but said she does frequently question McKenna to keep him accountable to the community.

“The only way I see us working harmoniously is for me to stop working for the kids and community and become a rubber stamp,” McCloud said. “I would rather step down from the board than to sell out the community and kids. I will never roll over like Rover.”

McCloud admitted calling McKenna a liar but said it was justified. She also said she routinely inspects the schools to monitor problems and sees nothing wrong with such visits.

Aubry said the alleged profanity and the visit will be discussed among board members at an upcoming board meeting. He attributed the problems to “strong personalities on the board and in the superintendent.”

Most other board members said the relationship between McCloud and McKenna is rocky and needs work. They declined to say whether the frequent clashes between the two in open sessions are even more heated in executive session.

McKenna’s memo to McCloud, a copy of which was obtained by The Times, says that McCloud called him a liar several times during a board meeting on Nov. 8 and a community meeting on Nov. 15.

During both meetings, McKenna responded to criticism from a group of Latino parents who protested that their children were moved from Crozier Junior High School, a school in their neighborhood, to Monroe Junior High School, which the parents said is unsafe because of gang problems.

McKenna said at both meetings that he had met with the parents but could not enroll all their children in Crozier because the school was overcrowded. The parents said McKenna avoided meeting with them and only spoke briefly to them when they pressed the matter.

McCloud sided with the parents’ group and called McKenna a liar for his version of events.

McKenna’s memo also accuses McCloud of directing obscenities toward him during two executive sessions last month.

McCloud disputed McKenna’s account, saying that on both occasions she bit her lip in the middle of an obscene remark and never finished either statement. She said one incident occurred after McKenna walked away from her while she was speaking to him. Afterward, she said, McKenna angrily turned back toward her and other board members stepped between the two of them.

McCloud, known for her aggressive, confrontational style, is a former president of the Inglewood PTA Council. In that role, she led several protests at school board meetings and in 1985 was forcibly removed from a meeting for speaking out of turn. Her allies give her credit for spending full time as a board member and vigorously supporting teachers, parents and children.

McKenna was hired as superintendent, and $80,000 a year job, in October, 1988, after winning nationwide attention that included a made-for-television movie and an invitation to the White House, for his work as principal of Washington Preparatory High School in Los Angeles.

McCloud was one of the board members who strongly supported bringing McKenna into Inglewood, a district beset by political infighting, financial problems and low test scores. She has since become his chief critic, frequently reminding audiences that she and the other board members are his boss.

McKenna did not return telephone calls this week seeking comment, but in a speech Tuesday to the Exchange Club, an Inglewood service organization, he said the most difficult part of the superintendent’s job is learning to become a politician as well as an educator.

“I’m not as pleased as I would like to be at this time,” McKenna said of his first year as superintendent. “I’m not as disappointed as I could be at this time.”

Board member Lois Hill Hale said she sees no problems with the relationship between the board and McKenna, but board Vice President Joseph Rouzan said the two sides should meet soon to work out what he described as their “communication problems.”

Board members offered measured criticism of the two warring school officials but refused to discuss what happens behind closed doors.

“In my opinion, Mrs. McCloud has some absolutely sound ideas,” Rouzan said. “My problem is she gives you 120 things that really need attention and I tell her we only have resources to handle the top five. She spends her time protesting about the other 115.”

McCloud played down McKenna’s criticism and speculated that he is concerned about his job in the district.

“McKenna is trying to build up paper for a lawsuit because he sees the handwriting on the wall,” McCloud said. “He feels his only recourse is to sue the district and get board members to fight against each other to keep attention off himself.”

Board member Thomasina Reed, an attorney, said McCloud should be careful because she could be held personally liable for her actions as a board member. Reed said the law is not clear on the conduct of a board member toward a superintendent but it does allow employees like McKenna to file stress claims.

“It’s bemusing to me that Mrs. McCloud was one of the biggest supporters of bringing McKenna into the district and now she’s not giving him a chance,” Reed said.

McCloud responds that supporting McKenna was a mistake.

“We would be better off without him,” she said in an interview. “I’ve lost all confidence and trust in George McKenna.”

Terry Coleman, a member of the PTA Council who frequently attends board meetings, said McKenna and McCloud both have strengths and weaknesses.

“I don’t approve of supervisors giving their employees an oral thrashing in public--not that McKenna doesn’t deserve to be pulled aside and told to change his style.”

He added: “I don’t think anyone can ever come close to Zyra’s dedication as a board member. . . . Maybe when things get heated at board meetings, she should just call a recess and sit down man to woman and talk to McKenna in the back.”