When Maine got a first glimpse of its blossoming revenue surplus last summer, Gov. King said any money not saved or returned to taxpayers should be spent on one-time fixes of the things most broken. In singling out the Maine Youth Center for a $40 million overhaul during his State of the State address Monday, the governor could not have picked a better place to start.

Conditions — physical, educational and spiritual — at the South Portland lockup are so bad and so widely acknowledged that one could assume its official name is the Shameful and Deplorable Maine Youth Center. The buildings are shabby and crowded, the staff undersized and overworked, the inmates idle and dejected.

As the governor pointed out, this is a case of “pay me now or pay me a lot more later.” Shelling out $40 million in ready cash could save as much as $20 million in interest, but that’s only part of thrift angle. While it’s commendable that state officials from the Department of Corrections, the governor’s office and the Legislature openly recognize the center’s problems, failure now to move ahead with deliberate speed to remedy those problems exposes the state to costly court action. Construction costs only go up — nothing is saved by delay. But, of course, the biggest saving from a rebuilt, revitalized Youth Center would be in lives.

Among the 150 or so inmates, there are a few murderes, rapists and other violent criminals that may best be kept locked up, but mostly it’s kids who’ve just done something stupid. With an adequate number of teachers and counselors, many may be able to put their bad start behind them. Maine has tried it the other way, it’s tried the bare minimum, warehousing approach and it hasn’t worked. It’s time to try something else.

As the governor’s proposal moves to the Legislature, the encouraging part of this is that for years lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats alike, have openly expressed regret and dismay at the condition of the Youth Center. But that was when Maine had no money, when hand-wringing was all that could be done. Now that Maine has the means, the question is whether it has the will.

This is a particularly tough time for the Youth Center, following the resignation two weeks ago of Superintendent Laurence Reid after he was charged in Pennsylvania with accepting illegal gifts as a state official there. Reid, who is credited with doing much to improve the morale within the Youth Center in less than a year there, may be aquitted, he may not, but the lawmakers must not let this unfortunate circumstance be a distration from the larger issue. They may, in fact, want to recall that Reid was not the first choice for the job. The first choice turned it down after he visited the Youth Center and saw what shameful and deplorable really looks like.