When all else fails, try freedom.
"All else" in this case is decades of stifling teachers' union mandates, bureaucratic inertia, and unchecked political correctness. D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee is attempting to reform the long-failing D.C. school system by introducing elements of freedom through reconstitution and the charter school model.
As Milton Friedman long ago argued, introducing competition in education would bring a higher return on dollars spent per pupil. (Capitalism and Freedom, Chapter VI: The Role of Government in Education.) Being that the average per student cost of education in D.C. is $24,600 - "which is "roughly $10,000 more than the average for area private schools," and the district is riddled with failing schools and a high drop out rate, it appears a shot at that whole "freedom" thing might be there last option at improving education.
Best wishes to Ms. Rhee. I hope she understands that the more she tickles the ire of the champions of status quo in the teacher's unions, the closer she is getting to real reform.
