To move beyond the current stalemate in talks over furlough Fridays in public schools will take real leadership.

And with an agreement reached among negotiators for the Board of Education, Department of Education and the teachers union, the ball is now in Gov. Linda Lingle's court after her swift and forceful rejection of the deal on Monday.

She now needs to move toward the middle ground between the administration's position and the compromise deal.

The accord has flaws. The pact calls for spending $35 million from the state's rainy-day fund as part of a plan to restore seven of the 10 remaining furlough days scheduled for the current school year, enabling students to regain that time in the classroom. Teachers also would substitute two planning days for furloughs.

The governor is correct that some of this money is being misspent — calling back to work many district and other non-classroom teachers who aren't essential to keeping schools open on furlough Fridays. It's unfortunate that the Hawaii State Teachers Association and the state couldn't have come to terms on criteria identifying which workers are needed to restore a reasonable level of classroom learning, in addition to assuring student health and safety. This is a budget crisis, and using such distinctions to set spending priorities should be part of any crisis solution.

Looking ahead to reducing furlough days in the 2010-11 school year, as Lingle wants to do, is important. But the more immediate concern is to chart a responsible course through what remains of the current academic year. Students are due to return to class Tuesday, so there's zero time to waste. The HSTA pact represents progress and should be treated as a useful step toward at least a short-term settlement.

The governor has asserted that $50 million plus a conversion of planning days could restore all furlough days through the 2010-11 school year, but that blueprint is looking less feasible. It assumes a $19 million operational deficit that the DOE would need to make up somehow.

The union can't, and shouldn't, accept on faith that this budgetary hole can be closed without further layoffs. The DOE already has made deep cuts during the budgetary process and with the further fiscal restrictions ordered by the governor, it's hard to imagine where that much extra savings can be found in the short term.

There also may be additional funding for public schools from the federal government, an estimated $90 million awaiting Senate approval. If this materializes, it could be part of a plan to offset the 2010-11 budgetary blow.

Meanwhile, there's an immediate problem to solve, and elected officials and union leaders are duty-bound to negotiate in earnest.

This game of "chicken" has gone on long enough.