EDITORIAL BREWER'S MILLIONS FOR ALL THE MONEY HE'S GETTING, NEW LAUSD CHIEF BETTER BE A MIRACLE-WORKER.

IF the cliche that you get what you pay for holds true in public education, then the Los Angeles Unified School District will soon have an educational miracle-worker as superintendent.

It better.

Because absent some truly extraordinary leadership, it's hard to see how the taxpayers of Los Angeles aren't overpaying for incoming Superintendent David Brewer III.

Aside from his staggering six-figure salary, just look at Brewer's other perks: A $45,000 annual expense account. A $3,000 monthly housing allowance. Plus a car -- and a driver.

Then there's the salary itself, not that Brewer should have much use for it, with all his expenses already covered. But in addition to the extras, the superintendent will take home a base of $300,000 a year.

For those keeping score, that's $50,000 more than outgoing Superintendent Roy Romer made. And Romer's expense account was only one-third as large.

Romer's compensation package also included performance-based bonuses. Brewer, on the other hand, will collect the same paycheck regardless of whether schools get better or worse. And should Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa ultimately gain control of the district and fire him, Brewer is guaranteed a golden parachute.

All in all, Brewer's four-year deal could easily cost the district -- which claims it lacks funds for textbooks and class-size reduction -- upward of $2 million, a staggering sum given his lack of direct experience.

After all, it's not as though Brewer comes to the LAUSD with an impressive track record of having turned other failing school districts around. But members of the school board believe his administrative acumen is what the LAUSD needs. In time, we'll find out if they're right.

Given his extremely generous compensation package, Brewer now faces extremely high expectations. Let's hope he meets them.