Lost at sea; Time to jettison one of the chief obstacles to reform: the local school board.(Forum)

From: Education Next | Date: June 22, 2004| Author: Finn, Chester E., Jr.; Keegan, Lisa Graham | Copyright information

EARLY 20TH CENTURY PROGRESSIVE REFORMERS established elected school boards as a means of shielding public school systems from the politics and patronage of corrupt city governments. Citizens, rather than political dons or their favored appointees, would govern the community's schools with the community's interests at heart.

Today, however, elected school boards, especially in America's troubled cities, are just as apt to contribute to the school system's ills. They often...

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