Recent studies have questioned the decision making influence of both elected and appointed school boards. More research into the decision making functions of boards was needed, and one opportunity to do further research was presented in an upstate school district in New York. A moderately sized city with a K-12 school population of 3,200 changed from an appointed school board to an elected school board. To establish if the former appointed school board had made decisions in a manner different from that of the current elected school board, content analysis of school board minutes was used. Five broad areas of school functioning were used to classify the demands recorded in the school board minutes. A 6-month period in 1968-1969 under the appointed board was compared to the identical six month period in 1970-1971 under the elected board. With several exceptions, the school district under the appointed board seemed to be the mirror image of the district under the elected board. (Author/JF)