This paper explores what happens to the old central office when the familiar top-down structure of school governance is replaced by a charter-district system in which independent public schools operate on charters or contracts. For the most part, the paper examines districts that authorize and oversee a significant number of charter schools, rather than districts that contract out for the management of a few schools. It concentrates on districts that set out to create a system of successful independent schools, as well as viable structures of oversight and accountability distinctly suited to the charter context. The paper also makes some assumptions about how an ideal charter district should operate. It examines how the major functions of the central office change in a charter district; how larger questions of accountability and equity are affected by how the district is organized; and how the roles and responsibilities change for board members, superintendents, administrative staff, school leaders, and teachers. Finally, the paper offers suggestions to help districts seeking to create a new central office. (Contains 53 endnotes, many of which are references.) (WFA)