MIAMI -- Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Rudy Crew received some harsh criticism Monday from certain members of South Florida's Hispanic community who accused him of mistreating Hispanics who work beneath him.

The Spanish American League Against Discrimination held a news conference at the popular Cuban eatery Versailles in Little Havana to accuse Crew of discriminating against Hispanics, although in what way wasn't made clear.

"If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck," said SALAD President Osvaldo Soto, struggling for the words to fit his analogy.

Soto cited the dismissal of former Deputy Superintendent Dr. Mercedes Toural, who is Hispanic, and Crew's refusal to place some of Dr. Marta Perez's items on the school board agenda.

"I think that he's certainly insensitive, and I think that possibly, too, that he does discriminate as well," said Perez, who is also Hispanic.

But not every Hispanic in the school system supports SALAD's allegations.

"I don't believe that he discriminates against Hispanics," said Deputy Superintendent Ofelia San Pedro. "I don't believe he's ever discriminated against me. His senior staff is 42 percent Hispanic, and that's a very sizable number."

While SALAD and Perez may be dissatisfied with Crew, a majority of the school board members support him, including Miami-Dade County School Board Chairman Agustin Barrera.

"I'm supporting him because of the job that he is doing," said Barrera. "And that's really our goal here, is to improve upon our education, and that's the direction that we're going."

Seven of the nine school board members support Crew, including Perla Tabares Hantman, who disagrees with him on who sets the board agenda.

School Boardmember Evelyn Greer is one of Crew's strongest supporters.

"Right now, we only hear from the noisy minority that I believe does not represent the Hispanic community or the entire community," said Greer.

She said some prominent Hispanic business leaders in the county are working on a campaign to voice their support for Crew and to encourage him to serve out the remainder of his contract, which expires in 2010.