This document reports the results of a year-long study of the processes used successfully to manage policy in a medium-sized school district in Ontario, Canada. The study was subjective and qualitative, and involved three techniques: observing meetings and people at work, conducting interviews, and examining documentary material. The researchers assessed the impact on policy formation of trustees, senior administrators, other internal professionals, middle managers, union leaders, and knowledgeable outsiders. Formal and informal settings for policy consideration, from board meetings to social gatherings, were observed. The report describes the four major routes by which policy is formulated and discusses combinations of these routes. Mechanisms used in the district for maintaining control and cohesiveness in policy matters are delineated. The report concludes with an examination of the policy system's flexibility and of the implications of the study's findings for administrators and researchers. (Author/PGD)