Most "systemic" reforms try to align different public education segments via mandated goals, tests, curriculum frameworks, and teacher certification methods but fail to eliminate political, contractual constraints that create fragmented, unresponsive schools. Contracting, alternative form of public education governance building on…

The goal of this report is to formulate a true alternative to the current form of governance for public education. Based on studies of governance in other large decentralized service organizations and of local educational reform efforts, the report concludes that there is a real alternative. The alternative allows the schools to be operated by a…