December 27, 2006 —A new report on restructuring the national education system recommends that school boards contract with third parties to run schools.

The report by the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce suggests that each school operate like a separate business.

Speaking on WNYC's Brian Lehrer show today Mark Tucker, the commission's co-chair said school boards would renew the schools' contracts if they met performance standards.

In the best case scenarios, teachers would own and run the schools, Tucker said.

TUCKER: The idea of having schools run by partnerships of teachers is a way of saying our teachers ought to be like architects, engineers and others.

REPORTER: Randi Weingarten, president of the United Federation of Teachers, disagrees, saying it's important for districts to have oversight.

She cited a study of New Orleans schools released by the Bush administration last summer which found that charter schools that operated without school district support fared worse than any other schools nationwide.