Notoriously, Hawai'i's public education system has been nothing short of unbearable; poor facilities, overdrawn standards, and lack of funds are often blamed for the recurring misses.

While the ideal learning mix is nowhere near present, Hawai'i still graduates thousands of promising and intelligent students each year, all garnering the potential to solidify the state's future — if they were here, of course.

Hawai'i legislators, for the sake of the state's industries and leadership, need to focus on keeping our top graduates in Hawai'i.

Gov. Lingle's 2007 initiatives were a strong start: The HiEST Academy for high school students could potentially offer dual high school/college credits and in-state scholarships for those who study and pursue STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) interests, among other benefits. These incentives are just the thing that will motivate students (and their bill-paying parents) to stay.

That was a year ago.

In 2008, legislators must shape these opportunities inside of the classroom, and not on paper.

Our state has already lost Hoku Scientific to the Mainland; there are many more Hoku Scientifics to come, but let's make sure we don't lose those as well.