Posted on: Friday, April 30, 2004

EDITORIAL
Schools: Compromise, progress still possible

Gov. Linda Lingle's "soft veto" of the Legislature's education reform bill offers opportunities for compromise and creativity over what is clearly the No. 1 issue of the 2004 session.

In effect, Lingle didn't simply reject the bill produced by legislative Democrats; she re-wrote it.

In some cases, the changes proposed by the governor should be relatively easy for the Democrats to accept. For instance, she wants the new "weighted student formula" for school funding to begin a year earlier than the Democrats have proposed.

If a compromise of this nature can get Lingle to sign the education bill, they should go for it.

Similarly, Lingle pushed for a phase-in plan that would eventually put 90 percent of school budgets under the control of principals. The Legislature proposed that 70 percent be under individual school control.

There is a substantive difference between 70 percent and 90 percent, since that last 20 percent represents much of the real discretionary spending. But a phase-in would give both sides time to see whether principals actually have the ability and desire to control school budgets.

Again, this is the kind of compromise that is worth the price if it means agreement on reform legislation.

Where Lingle and the legislative Democrats have more substantial differences remains in the arena of governance.

Lingle continues to push for a breakup of the single statewide Department of Education into seven or more locally elected boards. The Democrats want elected school advisory councils at each school with real power to spend money and direct educational initiatives.

The governor says the Democratic version of local councils would be unworkable, with no real rules and no coherence on spending policies and educational approach. The effect of these councils, she says, would be to disenfranchise principals and muddy the matter of accountability.

That's arguable. But Lingle does make a good point when she says the details of how these individual school councils would work appear to be hazy.

Since Lingle has conceded her governance proposal — local elected boards — is dead for this session at least, the Democrats might want to consider holding off on their alternative governance plan.

The two sides can go at it again next year on the governance piece of the puzzle.

Meanwhile, there is plenty left to move our public school system forward.