EDITORIAL BIGGER IS WORSE THE ONLY WAY TO FIX THE LAUSD IS TO BREAK IT UP.

LAST year's creation of 11 minidistricts within the Los Angeles Unified School District was supposed to bring some accountability and community involvement to the district.

It was also supposed to whittle down the bureaucracy and save money by eliminating 834 jobs and $46 million in waste.

Those big promises, like the big district itself, have proved to be yet another big disappointment.

Rather than bring administrators and district officials closer to the parents and teachers, ``decentralization'' has added another layer of bureaucracy.

According to a Los Angeles County Grand Jury report on minidistrict reorganization, the LAUSD's mega-bureaucracy has swelled by 100 administrators - and its expenses have grown by $100 million.

The report can be summed up in three words: Bigger is worse.

The grand jury came short of offering a recommendation, but the solution is obvious - break up the district.

According to the report, a school district is ```most successful when it is part of a well-defined community and its policy-makers are close to the community.'' Of course.

The LAUSD is too huge, too unwieldy, and too spread out to ever be cohesive and successful.

This fall, the state Board of Education will consider a proposal to let the San Fernando Valley leave the LAUSD and form two independent, 196,000-student districts.

Now that reorganization can officially be added to the LAUSD's long list of failures, it's clear that there is no other choice.

When it comes to the LAUSD, smaller is better.