EDITORIAL : NO, IN ANY LANGUAGE; L.A. SCHOOL DISTRICT PLAYS AT TEACHING.

THE U in LAUSD stands for Unified, but it ought to stand for Unsuccessful - the Los Angeles Unsuccessful School District.

Time and again, the district's ineffectiveness has given the public ample reason to dismantle the LAUSD and create smaller, more accountable units of school governance.

This week, the public learned that some LAUSD schools routinely send non-English-speaking children to spend the afternoon ``mixing'' on the playground, while it claims that they are learning English so that they can have an equal chance of success in this country.

The district's feeble explanations can't mask the fact that it's just a long recess, not genuine instruction, which students deserve, and which parents, state officials, the public and taxpayers expect.

``That has happened - I agree it's a waste of time,'' said Carmen Schroeder, interim assistant superintendent of instruction in the 640,000-student district. ``It's a big institution. Some schools are not following the rules as they should.''

Give Schroeder credit for seeing what's happening - the LAUSD is a too big to be managed effectively. It's an out-of-control bureaucracy, operating more like a jobs program than a serious, effective institution of learning.

The LAUSD falls short in noninstructional areas, too. Apparently, no one is in control.

As the Daily News reported recently, the employees who are supposed to be watchdogs - in the audit, budget and accounting departments - spent hundreds of working hours during the last seven months organizing a holiday party for themselves and a few hundred guests. Meanwhile, overtime in those and other LAUSD departments increased more than sixfold over the past five years, forcing officials to request $2 million in overtime pay this year alone.

What's more, the district doesn't have enough textbooks and classroom supplies, but its leaders proposed giving hefty raises to high-ranking administrators without setting performance standards for them.

None of it makes sense. The district has a $5 billion budget, but it doesn't have enough textbooks, it racks up astronomical overtime, and it sends children to play for hours instead of teaching them English.

This latest example of LAUSD abuse and ineffectiveness is exactly the sort of thing that compels voters to support a measure like the Ron Unz-backed ``English-only'' initiative.

Enough already, the public is saying. We wonder if the LAUSD will get the message in time to save itself and the next generation of children.