A radical new funding approach to public schools in Hawai'i has been approved by the state Board of Education — but unfortunately, only in theory.

Concerned about inequities and fearful that they do not fully understand the implications of the formula, board members decided to move ahead on the funding plan in a tentative way that will do little to prove or disprove its worth.

Given that this plan has been on the table and studied for more than a year, it's difficult to understand how board members are now perplexed and concerned about its impact.

Still, they are. And the result is that the new approach will not be truly tested for at least another year, if even then. Absent a thorough test, opponents — and there are many — will gain ammunition in their efforts to kill the plan altogether.

The plan shifts a substantial portion of school funding to a "weighted" formula based on student need, rather than a straight per-capita basis. Because money is not unlimited, giving more to some schools means other schools will inevitably get less.

That fact left many board members wondering whether this is such a good idea after all. So, rather than moving ahead as proposed by the Department of Education with a 25 percent shift of funding in the first year (getting to full implementation in three years), the board authorized just a 10 percent shift in allocations the first year.

That's not enough to make a significant difference, and it paves the way for the entire program to be scrapped. That would be a shame.

Ideally, of course, schools with extra needs should get extra money, but not at the expense of others. As a practical matter, that won't happen.

Sadly, the best that can be said is that the board has not rejected this innovative plan outright. It is imperative that the board work toward fully implementing it as envisioned by the Legislature as soon as possible. Anything less cheats the students this plan was designed to help.