No grandiose ideas, please, we're monopolists

The state's largest newspaper has an excellent editorial taking some local superintendents to task for their opposition to common-sense education reforms. I encourage you to read it here.

"I'm not one for grandiose ideas.
Just send money."

One of the superintendents mentioned is Pat Harrison of Ada. He is on record complaining that state Supt. Janet Barresi advocates "grandiose ideas we all can tell immediately are not going to work." Now, to his credit, Mr. Harrison does appear to be an expert on ideas that don't work. He is paid $117,423 annually to oversee a school district which produces students with reading and math performance worse than that of the typical student in the average developed country. For example, the math achievement of the average student in Ada is at the 40th percentile relative to an international comparison group. If one were to pick up the Ada school district and drop it into Canada, the average Ada student would be at the 31st percentile in math achievement.

At a time when many taxpayers are asking why Kathleen Sebelius still has a job, there are plenty of other tax-funded bureaucrats who need to devote more attention to delivering a better product.