For five years I worked for one of the leading testing companies in the world. I traveled coast to coast and talked with thousands of school teachers and administrators. The overwhelming feeling is that no federal bureaucrats can know how to teach every group of student in the United States. When the Department of Education makes a decision to help one group it hurts many others. This had been a trend in the federal government for awhile in centrally planned programs.

The Federal Government also sets regulations for schools, these regulations set unavoidable costs for schools. Schools have to spend funds on certain programs or staff to meet federal guidelines, even if they are not needed at a specific school.

My Feelings on Education.

"Under the United States Constitution, the federal government has no authority to hold states "accountable" for their education performance. In the free society envisioned by the founders, schools are held accountable to parents, not federal bureaucrats." - Ron Paul May, 23rd, 2001

This brief quote explains exactly the way I feel about the education process today. I would only add that schools are also accountable to the students as well. I have been working with and within the Clark County School District since 2003. The teachers and administrators know what the children need to succeed. It is my belief that one thing is holding them back from real success with all students. That is the controls and measures of what bureaucrats think is success in the classroom. School Districts are all forced to meet certain guidelines and then these are passed down to school administrators, then to the teachers, and then to the students. The students are in essence being pressured by federal bureaucrats to succeed. We all know how young people act under pressure. To top it off most of our teachers in Clark County are very young as well. So this pressure cooker does not make for a good learning environment.

So what are our options in education?

For Fiscal Year 2008, the Department of Education budget is $68.6 billion. I believe this money should go directly to classrooms or stay in taxpayer's pockets. Teacher's pockets! Currently, right off the top of that budget for 2008, $4.2 billion goes to the department just to pay administrative costs alone, but usually more is spent in discretionary funding along the way. Just to exist it costs taxpayers close to $5 billion, before they even do anything for schools.

(Source Link http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/index.php)

Many parents have already shown interest in being free of federal control by either enrolling their children in private schools or homeschooling them. Interesting enough, students enrolled in these alternatives have consistently performed better and tested higher than those in state-run schools. I believe parents and students have the right to pick whatever education path they desire and that no federal or local government can force state-run education upon them. Also for some families it is part of their faith that children be homeschooled. I believe these parent who do not take part in public education should not pay federal and local taxes for it. They can use this saved money to education their children how they choose. Either through tax breaks or tax rebates, students can receive the education they deserve.

Some will say that schools will lose important funding if the Department of Education does not operate in its current fashion. I completely disagree, all funds the Department of Education hands out to school programs comes from the taxpayers to start with. If the taxpayers keep their money in the local community, the schools around the country will automatically have an extra $68.6 billion or more to draw upon locally, just by not running the department. From the most recent count of public elementary and secondary education schools in 2005-2006, there are 97,382 in the United States.

(Source Link http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d07/tables/dt07_005.asp)

So lets do some simple math, lets take $68.6 billion and divide by 97,382 schools. Each school should have around $704,000 a year it can draw upon in the local community if needed. This total may be skewed by certain demographics in a community to be higher and lower. If the local districts have the money, they can also choose the best programs that will work in their classrooms. Not in every case but most, the Department of Education funds are for select programs only. Schools are sometimes force to select programs that don't quite fit their needs, but they try to make them work because they are "Free" for school district. Free meaning that the parents and teachers already paid for them with their taxes. The best part of people keeping the money in the local community is that it can also be tasked for other needs as well if the people need it. People have more choices, they can choose whatever interest benefits them the most.

I believe, the current Department of Education should be scaled down greatly and shifted into a public research foundation, with no link to the federal government. People could contribute time and money to the cause of education if they wish. I believe that many people would donate to make a better future for our children. I see a need for a educational research body that can study best practices in the schools around world. I could then see schools purchasing services from this research body to better teachers in the classroom. This way the local schools will then have the choice of programs they want. Freedom of choice is what matters the most!