EDITORIAL EDUCATION FIRST?

ANGLING to become the next superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg has picked an odd time to side with utilities over schools.For the last four years, the LAUSD and the Department of Water and Power, as well as various other agencies, have squabbled over the formula the utility uses to calculate charges. In total, the LAUSD claims it has been overcharged tens of millions of dollars.

Enter Goldberg, who has proposed legislation that would explicitly codify the DWP's position into state law, meaning that the schools and other public agencies would have to pay the same fees as private parties.

For the LAUSD, that would mean giving up a lot of money for teachers, textbooks and other academic needs.

Goldberg argues her bill only clarifies existing legislation in accordance with its original intent. ''If, in fact, as a matter of public policy we want public utilities to subsidize public entities like schools,'' she adds, ''I would vote for that and we should straight-up do a bill suggesting that.''

But if she wanted, Goldberg could propose a bill doing just that. Even if she's right in her interpretation of the old law, there's nothing stopping her from authoring a new one that would enshrine the LAUSD's needs - not the DWP's.

It would be a good move for the district she hopes to soon lead, and it would make her a far more credible candidate for the job.