The real shame of the past year is not the sudden shortage of revenue to run the state but in the faltering way its leaders have confronted it.

Yet another dollop of disgrace was ladled on yesterday by Arne Duncan, the U.S. education secretary, during a telephone conference on "Race to the Top," the competition for federal stimulus dollars being doled out to states that are working to innovate and turn around school systems.

Hawai'i, Duncan said in no uncertain terms, has plummeted to the bottom of the barrel in its probable ranking for these grants. The reason — as half the world has read, through a raft of media accounts — is the labor accord cutting classroom time by more than 10 percent through 17 scheduled furlough days.

For everyone touched by public schools — and ultimately, their success or failure is felt by all — it's become apparent that this has cut too deeply. Students and teachers are scrambling to pack essential lessons in a short week, and many say they're coming up short.

It's unproductive to revisit all the missteps that brought the state to this point. The fiscal crisis is apparent. Just ask the state workers whose families today are bearing the blow of layoffs.

Negotiating teams figured that furloughs were better than lost jobs. The union settlement may have been their best effort in a pinch, but now it's plain that their best was not good enough.

Everyone owns a piece of this. Gov. Linda Lingle has said she regrets signing off on the furloughs but she has yet to back off her overarching belief that the Department of Education could absorb this big a hit.

It can't. Lingle needs to restore some part of the budget cuts to help the department recoup some of the furlough days.

Where will this money come from? Good question. Many point to a cache of stimulus funds, just under $35 million. The governor has already spent some of this money for the "STEM" academies that provide enrichment in math and sciences, and has allotted some to bring charter school funding closer to parity with traditional schools, said administration policy adviser Linda Smith. But there should be room for compromise on tapping these funds.

What's really galling about this situation, even more than the simple fact that the state has painted itself into this corner, is that even now there seems to be little communication between lawmakers and the state Capitol's fifth floor.

The administration was conspicuously absent from a legislative briefing on the issue on Monday, when education officials said they'd write a letter to the governor seeking the funds.

Really? Can't people sit down in a room and talk anymore?

The tasks that lay ahead are onerous. The Legislature's "Reinventing Government" task force, including business and government leaders, needs to talk about ways to reorganize agencies to reduce expenses. Just as important, it must make sure the state is maximizing its revenue potential through existing fees and other initiatives.

There are Cabinet members on that team — but Lingle herself should be sitting at the table. It's time for our elected leaders to step up. Success will take innovative ideas, collaboration — and leadership.

To do less would be a dereliction of duty to the voters who put them in office.