Let's face it: Teachers are a pretty dedicated group of professionals. Although public school pay scales here have been improving somewhat, nobody who chooses the profession does so for the money.

There's a high degree of philanthropy among teachers, in other words — an inclination to put their students first. And sometimes this inclination can take a bite out of their own checkbooks.

In recent years, a range of surveys indicate that teachers frequently spend their own money on school supplies, with estimates at about $400 annually and up.

The desire to counter this trend is behind a legislative measure to issue each classroom teacher a debit card linked to a small annual allowance, a House bill that stalled in the Senate. Even though the measure did not specify the amount, its sponsor, state Rep. Corinne Ching, R-27th (Nu'uanu, Pu'unui, Liliha, 'Alewa Heights) said about $250 was discussed.

The idea, Ching said, was to give teachers some spending flexibility. A former teacher herself, Ching said needs often arise with too little lead time for the usual requisitioning of petty cash; besides, she said, sometimes a local sale offers lower prices than the regular state supplier.

The teachers' union seemed supportive, but state school officials were concerned that the bill would amount to an award of new money that a particular school might want to spend for a more pressing need.

That might be so, but the amounts are small enough that it would probably be more useful to an individual teacher than the lump sum would be to the whole school.

At least a pilot program could be reconsidered at the next lawmaking session. And in the meantime, there's nothing to stop individual school councils from trying out the concept themselves.

Finally: Funding a program like this on a small scale might be an ideal project for a private club or corporate sponsor. Teachers and kids would cheer a gesture like that.