Public schools and their problems are discussed in this paper. It is argued that public schools suffer from the effects of a bureaucracy based on a paradigm inappropriate for the task entrusted to them. Further, the monopolistic nature of the educational bureaucracy has insulated it from virtually all relevant sources of feedback and pressures for meaningful change and reform. Proposed solutions include repealing compulsory education laws, decentralizing education, creating an incentive-based feedback loop between educators and consumers, and radically changing the funding of public schools. The funding proposal is based on the creation of a state-level education fund to pay for all or most of each citizen's education. Implementation of such a system would result in improved pay, benefits, and working conditions for educators; the professionalization of teaching; improved school administration; diverse programming; increased parent involvement; and changes in teacher preparation programs. A conclusion is that public schools must undergo radical reform or become extinct, or at best, irrelevant. (Contains 24 references.) (LMI)