EDITORIAL TWO FOR LAUSD.

THE job of bringing strong leadership and fresh ideas to the struggling Los Angeles Unified School District is half-finished, and voters on April 10 have a chance to complete it.

Since a slate of three reformers won election two years ago, the district has restructured its management and started to get a grip on its incomprehensible finances, and student test scores have shown some encouraging improvements.

Still, a multitude of problems remain, and momentum to break up the mammoth 800,000-student district into manageable pieces is still strong.

Board member Victoria Castro has decided not to seek another term, and strong and well-financed candidates are challenging longtime San Fernando Valley board member Julie Korenstein and Valerie Fields, who is seeking a second term in a district sprawling from the Westside to the West Valley.

It's time to clean house and give LAUSD officials their best chance of showing real progress in the classroom, in building schools, in prudent financial management.

Children and teachers must come first - not the bloated bureaucracy that does a better job of serving itself than the public.

The Daily News believes the candidates we are endorsing in the two seats up for election in the Valley district can make a significant contribution:

District 4: Marlene Canter. Of the candidates running for the Board of Education, none has a broader vision or fresher ideas for change than Canter, a former special education teacher who with her husband developed a highly successful method for improving classroom discipline.

She is an independent voice, funding her campaign largely with her own money. She would add a needed voice to the educational debate.

Canter is challenging incumbent Fields, who is running for re-election in the district that stretches from the West Valley to the Westside. Also in the race are Pacific Palisades businessman Matthew Rodman, who is backed by Mayor Richard Riordan, and former math teacher Rick Selan.

Canter's main message, that ``the school board has let us down'' resonates in this election.

Her no-more-excuses attitude, background in education and goals for making the LAUSD more accountable to the public and more focused on educational excellence are thoroughly reasoned and doable. She supports streamlining the bureaucracy and making schools accountable.

Fields has supported the reform agenda in many instances and has consistently supported closing down the Belmont Learning Center. But too often she has let the bureaucrats off the hook and recently supported the 15.3 percent teacher raise for one year without concern for the cost to important programs.

Rodman, who operates a family owned real estate firm, touts his business experience to help the district build schools. While he is energetic and enthusiastic, he lacks strong educational credentials.

As a former teacher in the district, Selan definitely has the fire to shake things up but lacks the financial backing to mount a strong campaign.

District 6: Tom Riley, a Van Nuys businessman.

Korenstein has had 14 years on the board to make a difference, and while she has made some sound decisions during that time, she's also racked up a record of vacillating and avoiding tough calls on several issues.

It's time for a change.

United Teachers Los Angeles supports both Fields and Korenstein, the board's longest-serving member who represents the central San Fernando Valley and the Sunland-Tujunga area.

Teachers need to be paid well to attract quality people and retain them. But promising teachers a raise that might be rescinded next year because the budget can't support it and the economy is starting to tank will do more harm than good. It's unfair to all and a stupid way to run a multibillion-dollar operation.

Riley has a no-nonsense attitude and a strong independent streak.

He lacks Canter's educational expertise. But Los Angeles needs a drastic change, and Riley seems willing to put kids first and fight for the interests of all the people of the San Fernando Valley.

We strongly encourage voters to support newcomers Canter and Riley, who will fight for our children, rather than the old-guard board members, who would likely only have more excuses in four years as to why the school district is still in such shambles.

Do it for our kids.