The Johnston County Board of Education is looking for money to expand foreign-language programs in the lower grades. We think that is a good idea.

Most of the county’s elementary schools and about half of the middle schools don’t offer a foreign language, according to a story published in The Herald June 18. Only East Clayton, Selma and South Smithfield elementary schools teach Spanish, and it’s an elective in the middle schools at Archer Lodge, Clayton, Cleveland, McGee’s Crossroads, Riverwood and Smithfield.

One reason for that is cost: The state pays for teachers for core-curriculum subjects, but the board would have to find county money to pay foreign-language teachers.

We hope the board succeeds, because learning a foreign language could benefit our students. Besides being able to communicate in another language, students would learn about other cultures and the people who live somewhere else other than the United States. That, in turn, could increase their understanding of other nations and maybe even lead to better relationships with those countries.

Learning a foreign language early on can also help with mastering another one in high school or college. And, according to Associate Superintendent Keith Beamon, kids who learn a foreign language do better in their English classes, too. Besides, some of us know from experience that learning a foreign language as a child is much easier than later on.

We also hope that sooner rather than later, the state will understand the value of foreign language education and pitch in to pay teachers. But until that point, we hope the local school board will be wiser and show the way.