The Board of Education last night agreed with Gov. Linda Lingle's call for fiscal accountability for the state's educational system, but suggested it would be more profitable to work together rather than pursue it with an independent, unfunded commission.

During a heated discussion at the board's evening meeting, the board agreed to send Lingle a letter expressing concerns about how such a commission would be funded, and proposing they work together.

"You're talking about a massive amount of information that we have already," board member Maggie Cox said of Lingle's proposal to appoint a 25-member commission to look into how the Department of Education spends the state appropriations in its more than $2 billion budget.

"Let's ask the governor to consider communicating with us what her issues are and let us take them into consideration and do our job," said Garrett Toguchi, chairman of the board's budget committee. "If we can work together that would be the best for everyone."

A total of 275 DOE programs are funded with $1.7 billion in state money, said Toguchi, adding that it wouldn't be effective or efficient for a commission to cover that much territory within the two-year time frame the governor wants to see a report, plus recommendations.

"If we can find a way to partner, I see it as win-win," agreed board member Paul Vierling.

Board member Karen Knudsen suggested that the governor may be seeking the commission because of a "misunderstanding" about the use of the department's budget, and board member Lei Ahu Isa noted that perhaps it was a matter of trust.

"It's just a matter of credibility, that she doesn't trust the department," said Isa. "Let her see that we don't have enough money."

Board member Shirley Robinson agreed.

"Let her set up the commission and dispel the impression there's a lot of waste in the department and maybe then we'll have a partner."

At the same time board member Herbert Watanabe questioned whether the governor had even read the reports she had been sent that may have answered some of her questions.

However, board member Cec Heftel continued to push for a commission, questioning why after a quarter of a century Hawai'i's public schools were still in dilapidated condition.

"How can Pat (Hamamoto, state schools superintendent) run this enterprise with the people she's got?" Heftel said. "We have to put muscle into the board. If something isn't done, nothing will change."

Last week Lingle sent her proposal both to the board and to Hamamoto for feedback. Hamamoto also raised concerns, in particular asking how such a project would be staffed and paid for.

The governor's senior policy adviser, Linda Smith, has noted that Lingle raised the possibility of looking for more transparency in DOE spending as a "constructive" approach to help the department find better ways to manage a budget worth half the state's general fund, especially after recent audits raised questions about deficiencies in the fiscal and accounting systems.

The department is hoping to hire a chief financial officer once the position is authorized by the Legislature. But board member Mary Cochran said the $110,000 salary pegged for the position is laughable.

"If you want a CFO equivalent to something like Microsoft, you have to jack it up to $350,000 to $500,000," said Cochran. "Good luck to us if we can find one for $110,000."

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com.