National Conference of State Legislatures LEGISBRIEF B RIEFING PA P ERS ON THE I M P ORTANT I SSUES OF THE DAY FEBRUARY 2008 VOL . 16, NO. 9 Mayoral-Appointed School Boards By Sara Vitaska Mayors can Since the early 1990s, some state legislatures have granted authority to mayors to appoint some or appoint school all of a city’s school board members in large urban school districts. In an era of heightened ac- board members countability, mayors are increasingly held accountable for school performance. In 1991, Boston in some large Mayor Thomas Menino led the charge when the legislature abolished the elected Boston School urban districts. Committee and gave the mayor the right to appoint school committee members. Citizens voted to maintain the committee in 1996. In 1995, the Illinois General Assembly shifted control of the Chicago Public Schools to Mayor Richard Daley. Mayors in at At least 10 states and the District of Columbia grant some authority to mayors to manage school least 10 states districts. Mayoral-led reform can have many goals, including improving low-performing schools, manage school promoting high-quality teaching and learning, building collaborative relationships between the districts. civic and business communities, bringing more resources to schools with disadvantaged students, improving financial management, and enhancing public confidence. Limitations of mayoral-appointed administrations include lack of expertise in instructional and curriculum issues, use of standardized test scores as the most important measure of school improve- ment, the inability to determine whether the system helps improve minority student achievement, and the lack of direct public involvement. Mayor-led New Research. A new study by Brown University's Kenneth Wong and Harvard University Profes- reform can sor Francis Shen examines the relationship between mayoral-appointed school boards and student improve student achievement. The study, believed to be the first national, empirical study of mayors and schools, performance. examined test scores of 104 of the largest urban districts in 40 states and the District of Columbia from 1999 to 2003. Elementary reading and math test scores were higher in mayoral-run school systems. The study also concluded that mayoral-led reform shows promise for improving student performance by streamlining government, aligning political incentives, engaging civic and busi- ness partnerships, and effectively reallocating resources in large urban districts. The researchers acknowledge that a major limitation of the study was the difficulty in determining whether minor- ity students’ achievement was significantly raised by mayoral-led governance; future research is needed. Role of State Legislatures. State legislatures play a critical role in establishing and designing may- oral-appointed school boards, which can be set up in one of three ways: Enacting legislation that grants authority to the mayor to replace elected school boards with an appointed board (Chicago); passing legislation that calls for a citywide referendum on whether to grant the mayor authority to appoint a school board (Boston and Cleveland); and allowing voters to approve changes in a National Conference Denver Washington, D.C. of State Legislatures 7700 East First Place 444 North Capitol Street, NW, Suite 515 Denver, Colorado 80230 Washington, D.C. 20001 Executive Director Phone (303) 364-7700 Phone (202) 624-5400 William T. Pound www.ncsl.org charter that allows the mayor to appoint school board Legislative Considerations members (Oakland). for Mayoral Control States have authorized varying degrees of mayoral • Determine if mayoral control may States authorize involvement. In Oakland, for example, the mayor can be an appropriate policy option to varying degrees appoint three board members, but they do not repre- improve low-performing school dis- of mayoral sent a majority. The New York Legislature gave New tricts. involvement. York City's mayor authority to appoint eight of the 13 • Develop a partnership with mayors. members of the school board; one of the appointments • Develop a specifi c plan early in the is a school chancellor, and the fi ve remaining members process. • Understand the legal options avail- are appointed by borough presidents. In Philadelphia, able and possible challenges. the governor and mayor jointly appoint a fi ve-member • Emphasize partnerships with other school reform commission to run the school district. stakeholders (i.e., teachers, unions, In Illinois, the General Assembly gave Chicago's current school board members) and mayor authority to appoint all school board members, coordinate with civic leadership. the school board president and the school district’s • Expect court challenges. chief executive offi cer. Wong's and Shen's research offers several suggestions for state legislators who are considering grant- ing mayoral control (see box). The effects of mayoral-led control as a policy reform to increase student achievement still are being determined in the states. State At least nine of the 75 largest school districts are under mayoral control, and several At least nine Action cities are considering the option. In June 2007, Washington, D.C., Mayor Adrian Fenty of the 75 gained control over the district’s troubled school system. His powers include overseeing the school largest U.S. superintendent, budget and capital program. In California, legislation enacted in September 2006 school districts are under gave Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa substantial power over the Los Angeles Unifi ed School District. mayoral control. In December, a California court declared the law unconstitutional on the grounds that it violates the state constitution by allowing a local government to take over a school system. In December 2007, fi ve low-performing Los Angeles Unifi ed schools voted to allow Mayor Villaraigosa’s non- profi t Partnership for Los Angeles Schools to manage the schools in the 2008-2009 school year; a sixth school is awaiting a fi nal vote in late January. The unique partnership promises greater resources and control over budget and curriculum. Resources Wong, Kenneth, and Francis Shen. “Mayors Improving Student Achievement: Evidence from a National Achievement and Governance Database.” Paper prepared for the 2006 Annual Meet- ing of the Midwestern Political Science Association, April 20-23, 2006, Chicago, Ill.; www. fxshen.com/Wong&Shen_MPSA-2006_Mayors&Achievement.pdf. __________. “When Mayors Lead Urban Schools: Toward Developing a Framework to Assess the Effects of Mayoral Takeover of Urban Districts.” Paper prepared for the School Board Politics Conference Program on Education Policy and Governance, Oct. 15-17, 2006, Harvard Uni- versity; www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/50/06/5006.pdf. __________. Presentation at NCSL's 2007 Annual Meeting in Boston, Mass. Denver: www.ncsl. org/print/educ/DrWong.pdf, 2007. Ziebarth, Todd. “State Takeovers and Reconstitutions.” Denver: Education Commission of the States, Updated March 2004; http://ecs.org/clearinghouse/51/67/5167.htm. Contacts for More Information Sara Vitaska The Education Mayor NCSL—Denver www.EducationMayor.com (303) 364-7700, ext. 1647 [email protected].