An ongoing study has identified four major problems in Minnesota's public education system: (1) Minnesota schools are being asked to provide racial integration, special educational services, and other additional responsibilities at the same time that the school system is contracting as a result of demographic, political, and economic trends. (2) Although Minnesota teachers earn slightly more than the national average, a recent survey revealed that 58 percent are dissatisfied with their jobs. (3) Significant financial disparities between the state's school districts restrict educational opportunities, and recent legislation has overturned earlier measures addressing this problem. (4) Minnesota students have changed: perhaps the most important challenge to public education is coping with a student population whose circumstances of life are dramatically different from their parents and older siblings. The four problems outlined in this paper have been overshadowed by other issues whose centrality within the current public debate may not be justified. (KH)