One of the most significant changes influencing school board policy-making over the last dozen years has been the advent of politics. The advent of politics in educational organizations is best demonstrated by the emergence in the 1970s of interest groups. Schools and school boards have become highly targeted by such groups in part because of their high visibility and declining enrollment. In Canada, the 1970s were a decade of growing power in particular among teachers' associations. As a result of the growth of interest groups, school boards have become highly politicized, and often party-affiliated. As previously routine matters have become increasingly controversial, superintendents have discovered that good decisions are based on an accurate perception of the power and goals of interests groups. With the politicization of school boards, and the increasingly nebulous line between policy and administration, the superintendent's role now tends to be that of a negotiator designing proposals for maximum acceptability. The administrator can still be the most influential organizational member, however, if he or she maintains credibility, keeps abreast of programs and total organization, and actively supports board decisions despite personal reservations. (JBM)