EDITORIAL
Budget cutback for DOE just a first step

A major cutback in the state Department of Education's budget "wish list" for next year is not, nor should it be, the end of the story for fiscal year 2005.

In preparation for the upcoming legislative session, during which supplemental budgets for the 2004-2005 year will be written, the Education Department asked for $51.2 million above and beyond what it currently gets. (The department's annual budget is roughly $1.4 billion.)

But the state Department of Budget and Finance, which prepares a budget for the consideration of Gov. Linda Lingle, recommended only some $1.5 million in additional money.

That represents a huge gap; one that will have to be resolved by lawmakers when they convene in January.

The initial budget recommendation by Budget and Finance does not represent in any way the Lingle administration's commitment to education. It is simply a pragmatic recognition that the state does not have much money to pass around.

Still, the gap between what was requested and what was recommended is telling. Almost half of the supplemental request would have gone to pay for items mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind education law.

These are not nice-to-have items; they are required by federal law. The state faces the loss of other federal dollars or other sanctions if it cannot meet the requirements of No Child.

And that will be the policy choice facing lawmakers when they convene.

The money to meet the Department of Education's needs is there. It is just a matter of setting priorities.

Almost every legislator will tell you education is the No. 1 priority.

So we'll see if the money follows that rhetoric.