The relationship between Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority has been about as unwieldy as the agency's name.

Created by the state to oversee Philadelphia's city finances back when the city didn't have any, PICA reports to no one but the politicians in Harrisburg. That's been both its strength and its weakness.

When Mayor Rendell needed a bad guy to blame for budget balancing draconian cuts or less-then-favorable terms on city union contracts, he could always point to PICA and say "They made me do it!"

Now, Rendell's presumed protege and mayoral candidate John Street wants PICA's mandate to be expanded, to include the fiscally challenged Philadelphia School District.

This may be a good idea.

For those keeping score, this is not what this page thought three years ago.

Then - as now - we were troubled by the very existence of PICA. We felt then, as now, that PICA is a democratically questionable hybrid of politics and accounting, with unelected officials controlling too many of the city's financial choices.

But, over the years, there can be no denying PICA's usefulness, if not its constitutionality. PICA has been clear-eyed about Philadelphia's financial condition when some were too optimistic and others thought it was dead.

Yet, PICA's greatest contribution has been mostly political rather than actuarial. It has provided umbrella cover for the politicians in Harrisburg and in Philadelphia. Central state legislators can duck under it when their voters complain about the state sending Philadelphia some money. City pols can blame PICA for all the unpopular decisions.

Street's proposal strikes us as a politically shrewd way to end the bickering between the school district and the state. If PICA had some control, the usual Harrisburg demagoguery over the School District's wasteful spending may finally be blunted.

It could spell the end of the ceaseless number of audits the district has undergone in recent years. (More than 20, last time we counted, from all parts of government - from the governor's office to the state Legislature to the city controller - each eager to prove that the School District's money woes were imaginary.)

And it could pave the way for an honest conversation - one that could lead to a clear assessment of the district's needs absent the politics.

Unfortunately, Street's proposal has now itself become political. The plan is part of his campaign platform for mayor, and Gov. Ridge, a Sam Katz supporter, took little time in knocking the idea.

Apparently for Ridge, a mayor would be shirking his duties if he gave the School District to PICA to help manage.