Utah should streamline educational governance

Under the state Constitution, the State Board of Education is responsible for supervision of our public education, and the Legislature is responsible for the composition of the board and determining the state's education policy. Lawmakers, serious about renewing our educational system for the 21st century, should consider a streamlined, leaner and more responsive system, as recommended by the New Skills Commission (www.skillscommission.org), that might include the following: A three-member state school board selected jointly by the governor and the Legislature; schools operated by parents and teachers as limited-liability corporations; limiting local school boards' role to letting out and monitoring contracts; and assigning the state board to be responsible for recruiting, hiring and certifying teachers and establishing salary schedules for effective teachers and those working in shortage fields. Furthermore, the state board would be responsible for establishing a board of examiners that would create an exam on core subjects that could be given to students at the 10th grade, and students who score well enough would be guaranteed the right to go to college.

Streamlining the education governance system would focus responsibility and facilitate communications among lawmakers, the governor and state school board members; it also would eliminate the maze of bureaucracies parents must now deal with and get quicker answers from their lawmakers. The transformation of our education system would allow for lawmakers to develop a world-class education system that has the flexibility to meet the needs of today's and tomorrow's students. Remember, sometimes it's OK to be paranoid.

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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