I hate to keep challenging "the logistics of the operation," but the current education system was designed for an old economy, and lawmakers seem to be content with adding more regulations that further bog down the system, making it more costly and inefficient. While legislators blame administrators and teachers for the system's failures, they are the ones that have the constitutional responsibility for the "establishment and maintenance" of our public education. They seem content to be maintenance folks rather than keeping our institutions responsive to change as the founders intended.

For starters, how about having a five-member State School Board, where candidates file on their own and are selected by the voters; then realign the board's duties similar to the high-performance management systems corporations had to adopt to keep pace with change. Legislators ought to consider adopting the recommendations found in the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce report, which can be seen at skillscommission.org.

Just don't expect the current Legislature to do anything different that would renew our education system for today's global economy. Change comes from those outside the system, and citizens have to do it. We should elect legislators who have the will to do so and propose ways to do it. How about standards for politicians?

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A Utah native, John Florez has founded several Hispanic civil rights organizations; been on the staff of Sen. Orrin Hatch; served on more than 45 state, local and volunteer boards; and filled White House appointments, including deputy assistant secretary of labor and as a member of the Commission on Hispanic Education. E-mail: jdflorez@comcast.net