In a state where the school-age population is shifting from urban Honolulu centers to West O'ahu and the Neighbor Islands, the need for school campuses is going to shift, too.

Everyone — from lawmakers who set aside money for schools to officials who run them — is painfully aware of the imperative to make better use of taxpayer-supported facilities in a changing landscape. And the state Board of Education has the authority to close underutilized schools.

But there hasn't been much movement toward that goal.

Frustration over this inaction was the impetus behind the passage of House Bill 2972, which would establish a facilities realignment commission that would recommend what to do with schools with declining enrollment.

Giving power to yet another authority for managing our public schools is not the right answer. As it is, there are far too many cooks stirring this pot.

State Rep. Roy Takumi, the House education committee chairman, argues forcefully that an outside commission will be able to step back and look at the whole system in a way the school officials haven't done. Proposals for school closures have come before the board individually, but have been shot down by campus communities that make an emotional case to save their neighborhood school.

The bill, he said, lays out a long timeline for progress: The panel, made up of educators and others versed in land management, won't have to present its recommendations until the 2011 session.

The bill, which still awaits the governor's signature, also sets criteria to guide the process.

Even given these precautions, the better course would be for Gov. Linda Lingle to veto the bill and for the school board and Department of Education officials to buckle down and produce a facilities plan.

An ad hoc committee of the board, involving some experts from the business community, met for several months and last convened 10 months ago, and its report still isn't out.

No wonder legislators have thrown up their hands.

The bill sets up a process modeled after the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) review of 2005. The Legislature will have the option of mandating the recommendations in their entirety or rejecting the whole package, similar to how Congress voted on the BRAC report.

Injecting that much politics into the process was problematic for BRAC, and it would be just as troubling here.

BOE Chairwoman Donna Ikeda said the issues are complicated; there's no denying that. The land is not all owned by the state and, even in places where it is, the state Land Board, not the BOE, has the power over disposition of property.

The department, she said, is working on a plan based on the ad hoc committee's review. That plan would examine using closed campuses for magnet or charter schools, and selling or leasing other parcels where appropriate.

The DOE expects that school communities will support its blueprint because neighborhood kids will have access to additional educational programs under the reorganized facilities plan.

That sounds good, but school leaders have to deliver action, not just promises.

We need to manage all of our school resources efficiently — including facilities — so that our kids receive the education they deserve.