Enough.

It is long past time to end the petty quarreling over implementation of public school teacher drug testing.

In the private sector, this would have been accomplished long ago.

Is it any wonder the public has little faith in government?

The tests were agreed to a year ago. Deadlines were set for implementation. The same old arguing is going on.

Neither side in this ugly dispute was clear about funding. Each carries the blame for that and each has a responsibility to settle the matter quickly and fairly.

Yes, this was the governor's idea, but it was agreed to by all sides in the contract and it is the Department of Education's responsibility to implement it and pay for it.

The governor is right that the cost estimates from the DOE seem wildly high.

The governor is wrong, however, to again raise the ill-conceived suggestion that pay raises should be tied to implementation of drug testing.

All of this smacks of the same old political fight between the DOE and the governor.

It needs to end now.

At a time when Hawai'i's residents are wondering what is going to happen to jobs, gas prices, food prices and our fraying social services network, we don't need to see so much energy spent on what should be a very simple matter to resolve.

We need from the DOE:

• A realistic estimate of drug testing, which after all is random. We are not talking about a large number of drug tests.

• A commitment to get this done so we can get back to serious discussions about improving the quality of education in this state.

We need from the governor:

• An end to the threat to withhold pay raises.

• A real effort to rapprochement with the DOE and Board of Education. Grant the board's request for a 30-day extension in a show of good faith.

If education is ever going to be improved in this state, everyone with a stake in it needs to put aside differences and work to a common goal.