This article presents the case of community leaders who used the charter school policy as a way to effect district change for the benefit of a neighborhood in need. The case represents the potential of charter school policy to reshape the political and institutional arrangements of urban school districts, and it reengages the idea of what makes effective school-based management (SBM). The case also illustrates the necessary duality of voice and exit as a means of improving public services. Finally, the research indicates that what is necessary for such change goes well beyond the classroom doors. (Contains 3 notes.)