SCHOOL DISTRICT BATTLE HAS JUST BEGUN : PUBLIC MUST ENSURE THAT COMMUNITY, CHILDREN COME FIRST FOR L.A. BOARD MEMBERS LOCAL VIEW.

Byline: Paula L. Boland and Scott Wilk

ON April 8 voters broke precedent and supported Proposition BB, the Los Angeles Unified School District's $2.4 billion bond measure they believed was intended to repair the district's 800 dilapidated schools.

During the campaign the school district, who by its own admission spent $1.4 million of taxpayer dollars in support of Prop. BB, implored voters to ``Save Our Schools'' - they spoke of the need for new roofs, improved playgrounds and additional air conditioners which would benefit San Fernando Valley classrooms.

After all, thousands of repairs were needed after two decades of school district neglect.

Critics of the LAUSD warned that the school board would not honor its commitments citing the LAUSD's history of fiscal irresponsibility. San Fernando Valley partisans prophesied that Prop. BB was a ``poison pill'' strategy by the board to make it more difficult for the Valley to detach from the LAUSD. State law requires that any new school district detaching from an existing entity must acquire a pro rata share of the debt. By spending Prop. BB resources outside the Valley, the board could saddle new Valley districts with bond indebtedness when it detached from the LAUSD.

They further feared the school board members would again find a way to divert funds for their pet projects.

The arrogance of the L.A. school board is such that it took only a week for them to prove the critics right.

The board unveiled its plan to spend at least $43.5 million of Proposition BB money on the new Belmont Learning Complex. This project is a mixed-use facility (including retail center and housing units) in a private/public partnership in downtown Los Angeles.

Ironically, it's only three blocks from LAUSD headquarters.

The board again was attempting to pull a con on the voters with impunity.

But thanks to the Daily News and phone calls from thousands of residents expressing their outrage, the school board has, at least temporarily, backed down. They now claim that no Prop. BB funds will be used to build the Belmont ``Taj Mahal.'' While we can bask in our victory over this battle, the war has just begun.

During the Proposition BB campaign, the LAUSD advertised that every school site had a ``contract'' stating what repairs it would receive and the district also established a blue-ribbon panel to oversee the spending of the bond money.

These assurances gave comfort to a great many voters who relied on the word of the school district.

But, if we fail to understand history - we are apt to repeat it and that is what has happened this week.

Our victory over the Belmont Learning Complex funding should not deter us from asking the right questions, namely, where do we go from here?

There are three steps Valley citizens can take to ensure that our hard-earned tax dollars are spent effectively.

First, we must clearly communicate to the school board that we won't stand for the board's arrogance in pursuing its own agenda over our children's welfare. We must insist that the blue-ribbon panel have real oversight responsibility and not be a powerless paper tiger created to give the district a ``veneer of credibility.''

Valley residents must be vocal in their support of funding projects in the San Fernando Valley.

What if the board is cynically using Valley tax dollars in other parts of the district to accumulate debt for new San Fernando Valley school districts? We must demand that our children not be political pawns in its fruitless effort to retain power.

Second, we must exert pressure on our school board members to submit all bond money construction and repairs through the California State Allocation Board.

The State Allocation Board will match all expenditures submitted to and approved by it. Thus the taxpayers' $2.4 billion becomes a staggering $4.8 billion for school repair - that's $6 million for every school in the district.

Also, the allocation board has strict rules and requirements regarding proper bidding and appraisals. This will eliminate ``downtown cronyism'' so prevalent in the LAUSD and will force the school board to comply with state safeguards to ensure that taxpayer money is spent most efficiently.

However, it remains to be seen whether an additional $2.4 billion is enough of an incentive for the school board to be willing to be held accountable for its operations.

The most promising step for a more accountable school district is to detach from LAUSD and create smaller school districts. Last week, a new grass-roots organization, Finally Restoring Excellence in Education, filed a plan with the Los Angeles County Office of Education to detach the Valley from the LAUSD and create two new school districts. The group is awaiting approval from the county so it can begin circulating petitions.

This passion for local control is not indigenous to the San Fernando Valley. In addition to the Valley - Lomita, Carson, South Central Los Angeles and Gardena are in various stages of detaching from the LAUSD. In fact, a caucus was held earlier this week with members from each community so that efforts can be coordinated.

History often repeats itself. Edmund Burke once wrote, ``All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.'' This week's brazen actions by the school board stirred the hearts of good men and women and the public rose up and quashed the board's power grab.

By working together as a community and remaining ever vigilant - we can ensure that our community receives its fair share and the interests of our children are protected.