Cumberland County citizens are clearly exercised about the state of their school system judging by the rash of letters to the editor that have appeared in the Crossville Chronicle. The opinions are divided; i.e., one camp argues that education is so important that damn the cost, raise property taxes. Another camp complains about the already high levels of taxation and is not willing to pay another cent. It is also clear that both camps have missed the big picture and haven’t a clue about the real problem.

Education in America is in fact a global crisis. According to the Department of Education, America loses 8.4 percent of its public school teachers every year. Worse yet, 40 percent are among the best and brightest, having college grade points above 3.5. Teachers leave for a variety of reasons, but the overwhelming complaint is about compensation. The average pay for an experienced high school teacher is $47,602, only $400 more than they earned 20 years ago. Compare this with $57,000 for a semi-skilled worker or $59,900 for registered nurses with 20 years' experience. A large number of the county’s high school students will take jobs when they finish college in enterprises that don’t even exist today. The future was on display at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas this January. Who will prepare the youngsters for the future? Where will we get these skilled teachers?

The “more pay” group seems to have the stronger argument, but here is the problem: if teachers' pay were in fact raised commensurately, it would bankrupt nearly every municipality in the country. The reason is that teachers union rules mandate that any pay raise must apply to everyone equally, incompetent teachers as well as exceptional ones. Unions object to the notion of “merit pay,” unless it goes to bad ones too. Good teachers are facing the problem of merit pay with their feet.

Refreshingly, old-union-thinking is eroding. Gone are the likes of the despicable labor leader Albert Shanker who famously said that, “When school children start paying union dues, that’s when I’ll start representing the interest of school children.” School districts in dozens of states experiment with plans that compensate teachers based on classroom performance.

Michelle Rhee, head of the Washington D.C. Anacostia school district, has stirred up a hornets’ nest, with her relentless focus on finding – and rewarding – strong teachers, purging incompetents ones and weakening the tenure system that keeps bad teachers in the classroom. This Korean educator in a majority African-American city took a failed school system where the graduation rate was 24 percent and only 21 percent of its students read at grade level, and now it ranks among the best in the country. President Obama took note of Rhee’s revolutionary methods and said he favors merit pay and weeding out bad teachers.

Personally, we don’t have children in the system but are still keenly aware of the health of American education. Decades ago our four children participated in California’s “Gifted Minors Program” (top 2 percent). This was a grand experiment that demonstrated how exceptional teachers working closely with students and parents can create a superb learning climate; whereas the state’s system in general was barely average. Most importantly was the comprehensive method for measuring student performances. Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) supposedly provides standards, but in fact is the single largest and single most damaging expansion of federal power over the nation’s education system in history. NCLB’s real aim was to “dumb down” school curricula to reduce racial gaps in student achievement. Everywhere central-control is tried it inevitably fails and education is no exception. The greatest improvement would be to bring education back to the local level.

The loyalty that most teachers have for their unions is puzzling, apparently oblivious to how their unions are ripping them off. Insurance companies pay the unions millions of dollars per year for pushing their high-cost annuity policies that squander the teacher’s life savings, sapping their retirement nest egg. Tax-deferred annuities, which most teachers buy, promise a high return. But after extracting the insurance companies’ high fee, teachers are left with less than half what they would have earned with a mutual fund. Unions, donates millions of dollar to politicians who support the unions’ shameful scheme.

The plateau proudly boasts of being “The Golf Capital of Tennessee,” splashing the logo on water towers and publications. That is good but it should be embarrassed for not also laying claim to “The Education Capital of Tennessee,” attracting the best and brightest teachers. However it will take more than money. Harvard professor Paul Peterson notes that international test show that American 17-year-olds are among the weakest students in the advanced world, outscoring only Lithuania, Cyprus, and South Africa.

Parents, educators and community leaders should take back control of their schools from state and union bureaucracies and institute major reforms: establish advanced standards; compensation package that pay teachers according to student performances; weed out incompetent teachers; abolish tenure policies; and institute a modern school curricula. If those responsible for these tasks can’t hack it, they should be replaced.

Local merchants have a role, too. After all, they are the beneficiaries of a skilled labor pool. They should contribute to a “bonus pool” used to reward teachers for excellence.