A test is on the horizon at the University of Hawaii’s Snyder Hall, and it won’t be the microbiology students burning the midnight oil to pass it.

No, it’s the UH system itself that will be called to prove that, at last, it can bring in a needed improvement to its facilities efficiently — and save money in the long run.

The Board of Regents is considering a proposal from the administration to replace the aging home of the UH-Manoa Microbiology Department. In the words of one regent, the 53-year-old Snyder Hall has been in a “sordid state” for a long time.

The proposal — to use bond financing for a $50 million design-build contract to put up the building — makes good fiscal sense in any long-term strategy. Funding a replacement for a building that, unfortunately, has not had sufficient upkeep and rehabilitation for its entire history represents the better of two bad options.

Yes, it’s difficult to justify saddling the university with more debt, particularly with its track record of poor oversight and cost overruns in its capital improvements program.

But at least with the proposed design-build contract — with a single contractor and its subcontractors handling the entire project — there is clearly the potential for better coordination and the prospect of fewer mistakes. Some elements of construction, such as site preparation, could begin more promptly, without waiting for a separate building contract to be set.

And it should prevent the throwing-good-money-after-bad syndrome afflicting UH and other state facilities with a lot of deferred maintenance.

The cost of replacing the building would be offset because repairs — many of which likely will do little more than postpone the need for replacement — can be avoided. These are items on the to-do list with an estimated cost topping $18 million. And the building’s design should incorporate the many technological improvements enabling better efficiency with utilities, potentially saving much more in operational expenses.

All of this presents a best-case scenario — but the whole project would require better oversight by UH than has been exercised in the past.

The deterioration of Snyder Hall is evident in the floor and wall tiles that are peeling, the water-damaged walls and ceilings and termite-damaged desks, mold, corroding vents and leaking air-conditioning units.

Some of the faculty, while happy to hear the UH resolve to fix these issues, were upset about not being consulted. In particular, associate biology professor Marguerite Butler complained that the chosen possible site — on the north end of campus, behind the Biomedical Sciences building — would separate microbiology from the biology programs, located in Edmonson Hall next door to Snyder.

The administration should communicate its plans with faculty members, who know the needs of the department best. But the critics need to present a workable alternative to the current proposal, which still seems the least disruptive to academic programs. Studies can continue at Snyder during construction, whereas trying to rebuild on the same site would require microbiology to find a temporary home, or maybe multiple scattered locations.

The life sciences have been seen as a field with economic potential, supplying high-paying jobs and the hope for breakthrough discoveries. It won’t do to have the students conducting their work and studies in run-down facilities. The Snyder Hall replacement would offer the state a marked improvement — as long as the administration keeps the contractors on task.