Teacher Drug-Testing Program in Hawaii Stalls Over Who Will Pay

Random drug testing of Hawaii’s public school teachers was supposed to begin a month ago, but a stalemate over who will ultimately pay for the program has prevented the process from getting started.

Gov. Linda Lingle, who pushed for the testing last year as part of the Hawaii State Teachers Association’s union contract, says the state education department should foot the bill and has enough money in its $2.3 billion budget to do so. The state board of education, however, has so far refused to approve funding for the program, saying it would require taking money away from the classroom.

“The governor believes the department of education can find the funds in its budget,” Russell Pang, a spokesman for Gov. Lingle, a Republican, said in...