Bright bulbs; Legislature should fund Mass Academy.

COLUMN: IN OUR OPINION

The House budget released this week was sure to contain many deep cuts, but the proposed elimination of $2.6 million for programs for gifted and talented students is a classic case of penny-wise, pound-foolish fiscal management. The cut would include $1.23 million for the Massachusetts Academy of Math & Science at WPI, a program that has proved to be a star on the local educational scene since its inception in 1992.

Just last June the Legislature passed a $1 billion, 10-year life sciences initiative aimed at helping Massachusetts capitalize on a rapidly expanding field.

The Legislature was right to place that bet, and the initiative will bolster research institutions, academia, and biotech in Central Massachusetts.

The House action this week represents a departure from that bold course.

Some argue that $2.6 million spent on academically gifted students are dollars better spent bolstering the education of all public-school students.

The reality, however, is that the relationship between funding and academic achievement is not a linear one.

Massachusetts spends billions on public education, and as important and necessary as that funding is, devoting all available resources to a single education model will not correct every deficiency or enable every student to clear the hurdles of coursework and MCAS testing.

Using a very modest portion of our public-education dollars to invest in particularly gifted and motivated students can offer yield a many-fold return.

The House's slashing of $2.6 million for gifted programs poses a stark question: Is Massachusetts willing to spend $100 million annually to nurture the life sciences industry, but simultaneously balking at expending one-thirty-eighth that sum to develop the very work force needed to populate that industry?

State Rep. Vincent A. Pedone, D-Worcester, is among the legislators who understand the importance of keeping Mass Academy's funding intact, and has said he will file an amendment to restore the funding. We urge his colleagues to support him, and the Senate to follow suit.

This state cannot long remain on the cutting edge of science and technology if it turns its back on the sharpest minds of the coming generation.