This study used interviews, home visits, observations of parent meetings, and informal discussions to examine parental involvement at a Texas elementary school with a high concentration of Mexican American families. In 1997-98, the school's Parent Involvement Cadre (1995-1997) was replaced with a new system of subject-related and support committees involving only teachers. Five parents were included on the Campus Advisory Council (CAC), which addressed decisions about planning, budgeting, curriculum, staffing patterns, staff development, and school organization. The school was to use the CAC to involve parents in the goal-setting process and other decisions. Guidelines for selecting the parent representatives for 2-year terms and their duties are explained in this paper. Due to local interpretation of district directives and state requirements, both staff and parents were confused about what their duties were, the extent of parental involvement in the decision-making process, and how parents were to be informed. The fact that the principal had the final say on all decisions and was held accountable for the operation of the school posed another problem, in that parents felt their input was not a part of the decision making-process. Issues that affected decision making were professionalism, lack of information, and reliance on social networks to distribute information. Recommendations include clarification of the site-based decision-making guidelines; involvement of new parents; use of democratic principles; better communication with all parents; a longer term of service for CAC parent representatives; an assessment of parental needs; and a hierarchical inclusion of all parents at various levels. (Contains 13 references.) (SAS)