LAUSD NEEDS TO STAY COMPETITIVE ON SALARIES.

THERE'S good news as Los Angeles Unified schools begin the fall semester this week. Rising test scores at LAUSD made recent headlines, but a bigger story is developing on campus.

Aggressive hiring and a raft of innovative programs mean the district's 725,000 students will have their best chance in years to find a fully credentialed teacher at the head of the class.

During the summer, LAUSD recruited more than 1,000 new teachers and retained many veteran educators who would have otherwise jumped ship for better-paying school districts. Los Angeles Unified - armed with an 11.5 percent average pay raise that United Teachers Los Angeles negotiated - will soon be able to fill nearly all positions except special education. That's no small feat during a national teacher shortage.

Newly competitive salaries are only part of the story. The recent contract redefined how classes are assigned to balance seniority rights with equal access to experienced teachers for students in year-round schools.

UTLA has also championed two other programs to develop teachers' skills: Peer assistance and review is providing struggling teachers with professional support, and national board certification has encouraged more than 400 LAUSD teachers to master their skills.

School Board President Caprice Young recognizes that the hiring gains are linked to the pay raises. Young recently conceded she was wrong to oppose the recent contract but is already back-pedaling as UTLA and LAUSD prepare to negotiate new salary increases. This is the year, she claims, to build new schools, not raise teachers' pay.

UTLA recognizes that today's economic panorama is very different than last year's. We also know it takes more than one year to reverse the exodus of experienced teachers and make LAUSD schools attractive places to teach, just as it will take the district more than one year to build enough schools.

Teachers are determined to keep moving forward. The first step is showing good faith at the bargaining table. Last week, UTLA proposed raises that focus on staying competitive with other districts, not on specific percentages. We want to do away with the outdated negotiating ritual of an unrealistically high initial demand from the union and a ridiculously low counteroffer from management, followed by mutual hostility until we eventually reach an agreement somewhere in the middle.

The district's initial response has not been warm. On Sept. 5, a divided school board approved a ``final budget'' by a 4-3 vote that fails to allocate one red cent for salary increases.

That strategy would blunt the district's new, competitive edge on hiring. The last raise topped neighboring school districts by up to 2 points. Those competitors can only recover lost ground if LAUSD stands pat on salaries now. Then it's a short slide back to an old economic pattern of attracting novice teachers who invariably transfer to more attractive, better-paying jobs once they learn their craft in Los Angeles schools.

The district can demonstrate good faith by showing some fiscal honesty. UTLA has received less information this year about the LAUSD budget than ever, leading us to question both management's economic assumptions and motives. Who wouldn't?

The bureaucracy is notorious for feeding itself at the expense of school budgets, and the administration is vague about how ``decentralization'' has affected spending.

Teachers believe an independent audit is needed to discover how many nonschool administrators work for the 11 minidistricts. How many employees are paid more than $100,000 yearly? What nonschool programs could be cut without affecting classroom performance?

UTLA also demands a moratorium on nonschool hiring until the district can show it won't come at the expense of classroom programs. Anything else will shortchange the students.