Los Angeles community college leaders have shown some innovative thinking in spending bond issue money to upgrade and modernize the nine campuses in the system.

As the district begins its $2.2 billion renovation program, officials are constructing 40 futuristic "green" buildings -- structures that are easy on the eye, the environment and, they claim, the wallet.

The projects include solar panels and wind-harnessing generators to produce energy, as well as super-efficient and recycled building materials that help conserve it.

The projects come at an added cost -- roughly 5 percent more than older technologies -- but pay for themselves over the long term in the form of lower water and electricity bills. And by reducing pollution, green buildings will be good for the air of all Los Angeles residents.

This is the sort of smart, forward thinking that's usually all too rare in local government. The LACCD is leading the way in technology, and, we can only hope, public works, too.