Guy W. Farmer: Money alone won't fix education

When Nevada failed to make the cut for federal "Race to the Top" funding last Tuesday, lame duck Gov. Jim Gibbons and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., immediately blamed each other for the plight of public education in the Silver State.

Reid charged that Gibbons "was satisfied with only the minimum requirement to file our application" for Race to the Top funding. "Once again, Harry Reid has failed Nevada," the governor retorted. "Reid has never lifted a finger to help us while we applied for these special federal funds for education."

During a special legislative session last February lawmakers amended laws in order to make Nevada eligible to apply for federal education funding.

Unfortunately, Nevada - with the notable exception of Carson City - ranks at or near the bottom in almost every measure of public education quality, including test scores and dropout rates.

My fellow columnist, former state school superintendent Eugene Paslov, wrote last weekend that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rory "The Man with the Plan" Reid offers the best hope for resolving our public education crisis. But the problem goes beyond Gibbons, Sen. Reid and his son, and Rory's Republican opponent, former Attorney Gen. and Federal Judge Brian Sandoval.

"We must reinvent Nevada's public schools," Dr. Paslov wrote. "It's time to redesign our schools for the needs of the 21st century." So far so good; however, he went on to oppose vouchers and private charter schools, and said our public schools should meet "rigorous international standards." No thanks!

I'm favorably disposed toward the $4.3 billion Race to the Top educational grant competition plan implemented by the Obama administration. Under this innovative plan, teachers and schools are judged on their effectiveness as measured by test scores and classroom observations; ineffective and/or underperforming teachers are weeded out. This methodology offends teachers' unions, which all too often protect bad or burned-out teachers. The Nevada State Education Association is no exception.

The poster girl for Race to the Top is Washington, D.C. School Superintendent Michelle Rhee, who recently fired 241 public school teachers, 165 of whom failed to meet minimum classroom standards.

"Every child ... in a public school has the right to a highly effective teacher in every classroom," said Rhee as she announced the firings. Amen!

This is a giant step forward in a school district with the highest per capita student spending and lowest test scores in the nation. Nevada isn't far behind.

Excellence in public education involves much more than additional spending. It requires a hands-on partnership between administrators, teachers, students and parents. Let's get started right here in Carson City.

• Guy W. Farmer, of Carson City, is a product of Seattle public schools and the University of Washington.