The Ralph M. Brown Act's enforcement language implies striking a proper balance between school public officials and the public at large. This study of The Brown Act's enforcement provisions is presented in the context of school districts. The investigation focused on the following overarching question: Does a policy analysis support a finding that…

Mayoral control of public schools is nothing new. Boston pioneered the practice in 1992, replacing elected school committee members with mayoral appointees. Since then, a dozen urban districts--including Cleveland, Chicago, New York City, and Washington, D.C.--have undergone a similar change in school governance that has shifted some or most of…

After months of deliberations and promises of dramatic change for Los Angeles' embattled schools, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa the week of April 17, 2006 called for California lawmakers to put his office in charge of running the day-to-day operations of the nation's second largest school district. In his first State of the City address, Mr.…

Many urban school district students are dropping out and few of the remaining ones reach state or district achievement goals. These problems make governing urban schools both difficult and important. In 2005-06, the governance structure of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) was examined, debated, criticized, and praised by several…