School superintendents, in our region, anyway, agree: The effects of the federal No Child Left Behind mandates are good; the requirements and the costs, however, are killers.

No Child Left Behind intends for every student in public schools today to meet certain standards of performance in reading and mathematics, and those standards are admirably high. The aim of the legislation is not to see students scrape by but excel -- all of them.

Who can disagree with that goal? Every student must compete in school in order to be able to compete in the workplace. Allowing some students to graduate from high school without mastering the skills determined to be essential is to forsake those children and young men and women at a time their futures are taking shape.

The problem with the program is that not nearly enough money is made available to pay for it. The federal government in 2002 ordained that the model would be adopted but has since provided very little in the way of funds to see it through. That leaves the bill in the hands of the local taxpayers, as usual.

School superintendents around the region, questioned for a story in Monday's Press-Republican, agreed that the results have been rewarding. Students are performing better because of the government's intrusion into the local curriculum.

But not having enough federal money to pay for implementation of all the dictates has been a drain on local budgets and an even heavier burden for local citizens.

In the 1970s, the federal government set what is turning out to be something of a disturbing pattern, when it passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. That piece of legislation required that every student be given equal opportunity at a quality education -- a laudable goal, without dispute.

The government said it would provide 40 percent of the funding. However, it provided only about 16 percent. The act turned out to cost local taxpayers well beyond what was advertised. Great result, terrible imposition.

This time, the government has provided almost nothing, and that leaves school districts in a quandary: To meet the standards, other programs are imperiled. Most superintendents told us no programs have yet been cut to pay for No Child Left Behind, but they left us with the impression that it's only a matter of time. Sports, music and so-called "extras" -- which are not extras at all -- could be threatened.

Teachers aren't wild about all the testing involved, either. Not only do they have to submit to extra training, their individual teaching methods are compromised. It's a one-fits-all approach, for both students and the teachers.

New standards, both federal and state, are producing better-qualified students and graduates, and that is the critical point.

But, without sufficient help in paying the bills, taxpayers, parents, educators and students are going to find that too much of what they consider just as crucial will be missing from the curriculum. It's time for the federal government to pay for what it is requiring.