EDITORIAL
School budget needs should top priority list

There's no argument that money, and money alone, will not bring our state public school system up to first-class status.

But lawmakers should pay close attention to School Superintendent Pat Hamamoto and her request for some $47.5 million in new spending for the 2004-2005 school year budget.

Hamamoto wants considerably more than the $24.3 million boost in spending proposed by Gov. Linda Lingle.

The bulk of the supplementary request would go to cover costs incurred under the federal No Child Left Behind education law. The law imposes a number of expensive mandates on local school systems, including upgrading training for teachers and other employees, offering free afterschool tutoring and new testing and performance-monitoring requirements.

None of these comes cheap. While the federal government does offer some extra financial support under the law, it is far short of what the schools require.

And even that federal money could be endangered if the state does not comply with the law.

The Lingle administration has a tough job trying to balance a budget where demands outstrip resources in almost every department. It cannot simply comply with every demand, no matter how compelling.

But there can be no argument that education should be at the top of the priority list. If Hamamoto's request can be supported with hard facts and case-by-case documentation, legislators should find a way to grant it.