EDITORIAL : LAUSD'S CREDIBILITY GAP; NEW SCHOOL BOARD IS ACTING MUCH LIKE THE OLD ONE AS IT STIFLES PUBLIC INFORMATION.

IT did not take long for the band of reformers who took control of the Los Angeles school board to start acting like the ineffective, discredited bunch who destroyed the essence of public education in the city and left the district waist-deep in scandal over the Belmont Learning Center.

More than likely listening to the advice of attorneys and administrators who helped plunge the district into the toxic mess it is in now, the new board has put its reputation on the line trying to find a way out of the $200 million Belmont debacle without troubling itself about public information, public debate or public opinion.

It has quickly trampled on the spirit of California's open meeting and public records laws and very likely the letter of those laws as well.

Friday, the board announced it would hold a public meeting on Tuesday to decide what to do about the downtown high school project that has been plagued by environmental problems related to oil and gas deposits beneath the site.

The information on which that decision would be made was contained in a district report that, according to California law, should have been made public before the meeting. Instead, the board met behind closed doors for six hours and then released the report to the media before any member of the general public.

How could speakers make a reasonable argument when they don't know what the issues are?

Even worse, the board - like its predecessor - already had decided what to do in secret, so that the two hours allotted to the public and a few cursory remarks by board members were a farce.

The decision to create an advisory commission to examine whether the school can be made safe was a done deal, made in private without any public debate.

To top it off, the board imposed a gag order on itself and all district officials, preventing them from speaking publicly about the controversial project and its future until the commission completes its task in mid-October.

Clearly, the newly elected board does not understand the need for openness and public review of the troubled high school.

Belmont happened because of the Los Angeles Unified School District's secret dealings. It will not be fixed by secret dealings.

The actions of the past week show that this new board is willing to play the same old games.

The new board members knew they would be entering a firestorm from Day One, so they have no excuse. Refusing to talk to the media and the public is no way to help the cause.

As reformers, they must be held to a higher standard. They must perform to a higher standard. This is the public's expectation.

The best way to soothe the ill feelings between the public and the school district, and arrive at a reasonable solution, is by opening the process and permitting a free flow of information.

We urge the board to stop listening to administrators and lawyers who may mostly care about their own self-preservation, and start listening to the people who elected them.

Belmont is a scandal of major proportions. It cannot be hushed up. It will not go away. The district already has spent $123 million of taxpayer money on it and will have to spend millions more no matter what decision is made eventually.

It has contributed greatly to the LAUSD's crisis in credibility, its loss of public confidence.

The new board's mission cannot be fulfilled without answering questions about how Belmont could have happened and how it can be fixed. And it must do so in a way that brings people together in support of the LAUSD.

Deciding issues behind closed doors and gagging the process will only hasten the speed with which this board loses the one thing it has - public support.