Struck by the current financial crisis, Gov. Linda Lingle's administration asked state agencies and departments to cut their budgets by as much as 20 percent. This request includes the Department of Education; however, public education cannot afford more financial cuts.

It is common, especially in Hawaii, to hear statements that public schools fall behind private schools. Recently, these statements have started to become true; public schools already lack the necessary funds, and the state is trying to deprive them of even more.

From the attempted elimination of junior varsity sports to closing schools and offices' extra days, the public schools are lacking in nearly every aspect of education when compared to private schools.

The campuses of private schools are usually better than those of public schools. There is no doubt about it when you see most of the public school students taking their ACT and SAT tests at private school campuses.

Furthermore, the quality of education given in private schools is usually better than that of public schools, as you can see from the average test scores between private schools and public schools.

Despite the disparities, public school students have achieved academic success by overcoming shortages of books, equipment and classroom maintenance. But the newly proposed budget cuts threaten to widen these disparities to a level that could destroy the future of public education.

No part of the school athletics program should be eliminated or impaired because that would prevent thousands of students from benefiting from the educational values of school athletics. Fortunately, the proposal to eliminate JV sports was revoked, mostly due to the immense protest. However, the JV program went through profound budget cuts this year, with the threat of even more cuts or elimination in the future.

An estimated 6,000 students participate in JV programs; missing the opportunity to experience personal growth through participating in school sports seems cruel. Student athletes learn skills that are essential for future success, such as responsibility and leadership. They learn to manage their time, since they must perform dual duties as students as well as athletes. They also gain a sense of leadership by representing their school. Without JV sports, public school students would be deprived of such valuable lessons.

Closing schools and offices extra days during which the school workers are not paid was once thought to be a last resort, but now is being seriously considered. Even if it might be only a few days, shutting down schools would be severely detrimental to students. With fewer days of school, teachers would have to squish their agendas to a smaller time frame, possibly having to skip some lessons. Student counseling would be affected, too. While private school counselors are in charge of only a few students, public school counselors have to deal with multitudes of students. Public school students have few opportunities to meet and talk with their counselors, and with fewer days of school the opportunities to interact with counselors are further diminished. When colleges ask for student recommendations from counselors, public school students, who usually barely know their counselors, are disadvantaged.

Even in times of financial crisis, education cannot be overlooked; it must be continuously improved, not impaired by budget cuts. The proposed cuts would widen the gap between public and private education so much as to pose a threat to equal opportunity for public school students. If these overwhelming budget cuts are implemented, public school graduates will be at a disadvantage as they compete for jobs and future opportunities.