EDITORIAL : CHARTER SCHOOL VICTORY; BUREAUCRATIC OBSTRUCTIONISM MISFIRES.

CHARTERS for two trailblazing San Fernando Valley schools, the Vaughn Next Century Learning Center in Pacoima and the Fenton Avenue Charter School in Lake View Terrace, have been renewed. That was something the schools richly deserved.

But an event that should have been a celebration for jobs well done almost became a needless confrontation due to heavy-handed tactics by the Los Angeles Unified School District's downtown bureaucrats.

The bureaucrats, long resentful of the charter schools' independence and possibly envious of all the honors accorded Vaughn Principal Yvonne Chan, tried to toss a last-minute monkey wrench into the proceedings. They faxed a list of 21 demands - some of them clearly punitive - to Vaughn and Fenton late Friday.

What happened was even too much for the Board of Education. The board renewed the charters Monday amid sheepish apologies by officials that there had been some miscommunication and misunderstandings.

That, however, must not be the end of it.

For starters, the secrecy-loving school board should stop playing hide-and-seek with the taxpayers and hold open hearings into how and why this 11th-hour bureaucratic fiasco occurred. Was it because of malevolence - or incompetence?

Likewise, Superintendent Ruben Zacarias' underlings - and perhaps Zacarias himself - need to be reminded that the job of administrators is to help schools do a better job.

That hasn't always been the case with semi-independent charter schools, especially Vaughn. Many bureaucrats often seem more intent on finding fault than trying to help. Their hostility toward Chan has been blatant at times.

Contrast those attitudes with the findings of consultants who have made the first comprehensive study of L.A. charter schools. They reported to the school board Thursday that charter schools are doing as well or even better than noncharter schools in the district.

Vaughn was named a California Distinguished School and a National Blue Ribbon School last year. Standardized test scores at Vaughn and Fenton have improved. And while Vaughn failed to meet its goal of improving scores by 15 to 20 percentage points, it outscored neighboring elementary schools.

The secret of the charter schools' improvement appears to be their commitment - and the freedom they enjoy from unproductive LAUSD and state education code red tape. Unfortunately, too many administrators view all of this as a challenge to their authority and prestige.

That must stop. The board must remind the bureaucrats that they are paid to lend a hand, not stand in the way.

If they can't do that, they should wave goodbye.