Gov. Deval Patrick, who has gingerly raised the idea of consolidating some of Massachusetts’ 327 school districts, looks like a downright piker next to Lou Gerstner. The former CEO of IBM penned an op-ed in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal that calls for a radical overhaul of US education, including the abolition of all local school districts.

Gerstner, who chaired a national commission on ways to improve teaching, lays out four main pillars of the education policy he says is necessary for the country to maintain its economic competitiveness:

1. Impose high standards on all students, with a rigorous curriculum.

2. Greatly improve the quality of and pay for teachers.

3. Measure student and teacher performance using clear, standards-based assessments.

4. Increase “time on task” for all students through a longer school day and year.

A huge obstacle to translating these goals into practice, Gerstner says, is the fragmented structure and governance of US public education, which is made up of 15,000 different school districts. He urges President-elect Obama to seek agreement from the nation’s governors to reduce that number to 70 (one for each state, with the 20 largest cities allowed to maintain their own districts). Gerstner further calls for national standards and a core curriculum for students as well as standards for teacher certification; a significant increase in teacher pay, while allowing school leaders more leeway to remove underperforming instructors; and an extended school day plus 20 more days added to the school year.

It’s a bold call, to be sure. But with plenty of Republican members of Congress already furious over the bigger federal role in education brought by the No Child Left Behind law, it there really an appetite for something that looks like NCLB-on-steroids? Gerstner says yes, arguing that “the American people are way ahead of our politicians here: Poll after poll shows they support national standards.”

Maybe so, but it’s a long way from supporting national standards to countenancing the abolition of your local school district.

Michael Jonas works with Laura in overseeing CommonWealth Beacon coverage and editing the work of reporters. His own reporting has a particular focus on politics, education, and criminal justice reform.