Struggle in Conn. schools shows the problem in public schools is with administators and leadership, not children and their teachers

Today's New York Times continues its outstanding education reporting by focusing on Connecticut schools and the inability of local and state leaders to boost annual achievement for all students according to the No Child Left Behind Act.

Now things there are not as desperate as in Nashville public schools, which are months from state takeover. But the same mental weakness and lack of intestinal fortitude remains the standard here and in Connecticut. Officials expect the federal government to rescue their schools and help them meet the responsibilities to all children. They expect more federal money.

Wake up, supposed leaders! The economic turmoil in this nation is shifting every dollar to banks and Wall Street. The presidential debates have barely mentioned education. Funding of education is a local responsibility. It represents local values about the worth of every child. The Feds only supply 10 percent of government education funding. If education funding is not considered an investment and instead an expenditure, then your community has big problems.

Yet one Connecticut leader blames the problem with schools there on the failure of the federal government to send more funding. Wrong, wrong, wrong. To read more, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/nyregion/connecticut/12nochildct.html

The federal government is forcing school districts across the nation to finally live up to their promises. Each child must perform up to his or her grade level. And if your school district does not do that by 2014, there will be severe consequences.

Many chambers of commerce aren't helping reach that goal. They get involved, claiming they're interested in creating a better workforce with better schools. Yet their real intention is to prevent any increase in taxes or the creation of new ones to adequately fund schools.

Again, with Nashville as an example, it does not have Impact Fees, taxes on new residential construction for single and multi-families housing. These fees ensure that new residents pay to build more schools for their children, which in turn frees up district revenues for supplies and teachers.

Neighboring Williamson County, which has benefited from White Flight supposedly for better schools, has had Impact Fees since 1987. And that levy has produced $93 million for school construction. So students in this district score highest on state tests measuring achievement. They get state lottery scholarships for free higher education at public colleges and universities. So everyone who wants the best for their children wants to move to the suburban county.

In Nashville, poor and minority children can't even qualify for the scholarships. Tennessee State University, a historically black university in the more impoverished areas of Nashville, has not seen an increase in its enrollment since the state of Tennessee started handing out lottery scholarships five years ago. That's shocking and unacceptable.

The mandates of No Child Left Behind are morally right. Because the children of this nation have been paying the consequences for generations. The cycle of poverty remains unbroken for too many. And our prisons continue to fill up, which then costs taxpayers so much more than adequate per pupil funding.

The parents of these children were failed by the same schools, so they don't trust teachers and principals when they call for more involvement in the schools. And research by the non-partisan Education Trust in Washington, D.C., shows that a good and qualified teacher can catch up a child at risk to his or her fellow students in five years. For those teachers, let's pay them $125,000 a year plus bonuses like a charter school in New York City. That's finally paying these professionals for their ability to make a difference for a better society.

I agree with teacher complaints about teaching to a test. But until they get support from their elected and appointed leaders, there must some simple way to measure achievement -- even if that way is a poor one.

My brother is a public school teacher in Oklahoma City. He teaches children needing English language help, mostly Hispanic immigrants. Each day and weekend, he is overwhelmed in filling out paperwork tied to No Child Left Behind. I don't believe that is the problem of the law. I believe it is a problem of poor leaders and principals trying to first cover their ass. And as always, the teacher suffers.

Schools fail or prosper according to local funding and local leadership that accepts no excuses and values the potential in every child and the passion in every teacher.