State lawmakers get Seattle's education funding problems, indeed most grasp quite nicely the dilemma of public education underfunding. Resolving the problem was undertaken by the Basic Education Finance Taskforce. They came up with ideas that, for now, will garner us little more than insight.

Gov. Christine Gregoire's proposed budget spares education the brunt of the pain other government services will feel. Protecting schools is one thing, but increased spending on education in the midst of a severe recession and anti-tax increase public sentiments is unlikely.

Raiding the district's reserves won't work either. Anyone who has ever cleaned out their savings account knows this can only be done once. Then you're broke and the underlying revenue problem left unresolved. Yes, the district has $60 million in reserves, a breathtaking sum in which just over half is legally restricted. The $27.6 million that is undesignated is correctly up for grabs. The district will siphon $10 million to help balance the budget and pay for closing schools and moving students. Last year, it took $13 million to help close a deficit. Meanwhile, it must always take care not to violate School Board policy to maintain 3.8 percent of its $500 million budget in reserves at all times. I'd argue for keeping a little more than that aside, in the event of a catastrophe or expensive litigation - when people are not criticizing the district they seem to be suing it. Keeping some cash on hand will be critical as state cuts trickle down and some program grants are reduced or eliminated as non-profits tighten their budgets and the federal focus on education shifts to new priorities under a new president.

Dick Lilly, a former Times colleague and once bright light on the Seattle School Board, opposes school closures and argues that among many reasons, the buildings should be saved to house the pre-schools Barack Obama promised during his campaign.

We should all repeat: Barack Obama is not our knight in shining armor. The incoming president understands urban districts. His pick for education secretary was cheered by educators and economists alike. But the urgency of fixing public education fades when the view broadens to include two wars, an economy in tatters and an always fragile Middle East peace up in flames. Even without those challenges, education's more localized problems were going to have to wait in a long queue, says this news report.

Our superintendent can expect a friend in Obama but she ought not wait for him to do what must be done to balance the budget and change how we spend our education dollars.