[Kevin]

I think our public education system needs a major overhaul. Someone somewhere had a pertient comment (can't remember the source) that we still have a sliderule education system in a world full of calculators. I tend to agree.

The teachers' unions have a valid complaint - they don't get paid enough in many states for the work that they do. That said though, I don't think that teachers' unions give a crap about a quality education, just that the teachers that they represent have a good work environment.

I'm not sure about the voucher system. Might work depending on the specifics.

Here in Oklahoma City, we have a pretty robust Charter School System. A Charter School is a school that although it is still a public school it is given a lot more autonomy, less funding per pupil, however. Parents are allowed to pull their kids out of their regular schools and put them into charter schools. They don't cost anything, and there's no admission requirement as far as IQ, grades, etc. but most require some kind of time donation from the parents. My fiancée teaches at a charter school that requires 50 hours of service from their parents each year (although, I understand that they make exceptions when the parents are total bums).

-- the school she teaches at is as I understand around 40% white.

Charter schools are able to require a lot more academically of their kids. In my fiancée's school, all classes are AP classes, the class does not slow down for people who 'just don't get it', they routinely flunk kids and do not pass them on to the next grade unless they actually do the work, but they do have this thing called AVID to help kids who otherwise would not be college bound due to their background prepare for college.. Behavior problems are given the boot. Their API score (how schools are ranked here) is as high as the best schools in the richest suburbs.

Charter schools as far as I have seen are the best answer in urban areas. As far as rural areas go, no easy answer, but here in Oklahoma, a little district and school consolidation could go a long way.