MAYOR DEMANDS APOLOGY ROMER'S COMPARISON `INSENSITIVE'.

Byline: NAUSH BOGHOSSIAN Staff Writer

Superintendent Roy Romer's annual ``State of the Schools'' address erupted in controversy Thursday after Major Antonio Villaraigosa and Japanese-American community leaders demanded an apology for what they claimed was a ``racially insensitive'' comment made during the speech.

During his second annual address, Romer blasted Villaraigosa for portraying the district as failing, comparing his comments to ``propaganda spread by the U.S. government during World War II that resulted in the internment of more than 100,000 Japanese-Americans.''

``In that period of time, we brainwashed the United States that those folks are unreliable and needed to be detained,'' said Romer, who grew up near an internment camp in Colorado. ``I remember several mistruths being repeated and repeated.''

During an afternoon news conference called in response to Romer's speech, Villaraigosa called Romer's internment comparison ``outrageous'' and he demanded that the superintendent retract the statement and apologize to Japanese-Americans.

And community leaders also demanded an apology during a an afternoon news conference on the steps of the Japanese-American National Museum -- an event organized by Nathan James, a spokesman for the mayor's school-takeover bid.

``I agree with him that there was a lot of propaganda and manipulation of information to get Japanese-Americans into the camps, but that was a civil rights thing,'' said Bill Watanabe, director of the Little Tokyo Service Center. ``The debate about how the school district should be run -- well, there's no comparison. The remark was racially insensitive.''

Warren Furutani, a former school board member who now serves as a Los Angeles Community College District trustee, said the comment was ``out of bounds'' and ``trivialized'' the importance of that historical event.

Late in the day, Romer issued a statement in response to the community outcry, saying he'd used a life experience to illustrate how propaganda can harm people and society.

``As someone who grew up in an era where propaganda was used to damage communities, I continue to believe that the mayor's continued labeling of L.A. schools as failing is damaging to all the students, classroom teachers, parents and principals who are committed to improving the lives of children every day in our schools.

``In no way did I intend to offend anyone and if I did I apologize if the use of this example did so,'' his statement said.

The controversy over Romer's statements overshadowed his address, in which he vehemently defended the nation's second-largest school district and presented charts showing improvement in student achievement over the last six years -- statistics that Villaraigosa disputed during his own news conference.

The rhetoric between Villaraigosa and Romer has escalated in recent weeks as the mayor aggressively pursues his campaign to exercise greater control of Los Angeles Unified.

After initially announcing he planned to take over Los Angeles Unified, Villaraigosa hammered out proposed legislation that would give him a more significant role in the public schools and grant local educators greater control over budget, instruction and curriculum at individual campuses.

The resulting measure, Assembly Bill 1381, is scheduled to be debated next month by the Legislature.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, who opposes the legislation, spoke at Romer's event, saying that Los Angeles Unified is on the right track, citing its $19.2 billion construction program and mandatory college preparatory classes.

``There's so much a city can do in terms of health care, safety, after- school programs,'' O'Connell said. ``The district has taken some bold steps to improve student achievement. More needs to be done, but they're moving in the right direction.''

But newly sworn in board member Monica Garcia, a Villaraigosa supporter, questioned Romer's claims of improved student performance, saying that black and Latino students are not getting the support they need.

She also said she was concerned that Romer refers to the large Latino and English-learner populations as the main sources of difficulty in improving performance.

``What we're saying with the charts is, `I'm less of a failure than other nearby districts, but I'm not necessarily good.' I salute and celebrate the progress, but I'm not satisfied with it,'' Garcia said.

City News Service contributed to this report.

naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com

[phone]

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

(color) Superintendent Roy Romer was accused of having ``trivialized'' the internment of Japanese-Americans.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer