A Power Shift in Public Education makes a direct assault on what the author believes are the primary causes of the failed public school system in America. This no-holds-barred book about big ideas makes the case that billions of dollars and millions of man hours have been spent chasing the wrong solutions. For decades, government units at the national, state, and local levels have directed their efforts and funding to new programs and materials, when their policies should have been directed at staffing schools with outstanding teachers, implementing hiring practices free of favoritism and patronage, and supporting building principals, the real heroes of public education. Pandiscio directly attacks the method by which teachers are compensated, the reluctance of boards of education to link superintendent compensation to clearly defined student learning goals, and the unwillingness of state and local officials to confront the negative impact of teacher unions and binding arbitration on education budgets.