schoolhouse door, there are too many Big Bad Wolves taking bites from the funding pie. The largest bites are taken by central school district administrative overhead, transportation and food service. These three areas account for $1.73 billion. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction takes another $77 million bite.

We must figure out how to manage the business of public education without the costly administrative burden that is currently in place. We are the only country in the world where non-teaching administrative positions exceeds the number of teaching positions. Countries such as Japan, France, Belgium and Australia employ four teachers for every non-teaching employee. It seems only school systems in the United States employ more non-teachers than teachers! Why does the state of Washington have 295 school districts? In the for-profit world, such a huge number of administrative divisions would offer a great opportunity to save money through roll-up and consolidation.

It is interesting to note the sheer number of non-teaching jobs in the Seattle Public School system. Here are a few:

SUPERINTENDENT, CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, DIRECTOR OF EQUITY, RACE & LEARNING SUPPORT, EQUITY AND RACE RELATIONS SPECIALIST, DISTRICT MANAGER OF VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION, LEAD DIRECTOR OF INSTRUCTION, DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, DIRECTOR OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT, DIRECTOR OF SUPPORT, PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION, GENERAL COUNSEL , EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES, DIRECTOR OF INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICES, PROGRAM MANAGER FOR LITERACY, PROGRAM MANAGER FOR VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS, PROGRAM MANAGER FOR MATHEMATICS,