Do we need school boards?

Do we need school boards?
Lois Kazakoff
San Francisco Chronicle
October 12, 2009

...California public schools are not producing the workers our economy needs to compete.

The problem, suggested panelist Aart J. De Geus, CEO of Synopsys, "If I look at it as if I were the CEO of education of California, I would look at a company (in terms of), "What are the resources? What are the results? And what is the management system?" I'd say, "Well, let's look at the CEO of the educational system." There is no CEO of the educational system. I know there are commissioners, and whatever they're called, but, to be a CEO, you need to have both responsibility and power."

Another panelist, Ellen Moir, executive director of the UC Santa Cruz New Teacher Center, said, "They (school board members) don't have the impetus and the drive and the focus and the control and the power to transform what's going on in (school) districts."

School boards negotiate contracts with teachers and other school personnel and hire the district superintendent. There's ongoing concern that school board decisions are at the least, not effective, and at the worst, interfere with long-term educational goals and continuity of management.

Is a democratically elected school board in the best interests of educating our youth? What do you think?

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/opinionshop/detail?&entry_id=49434#ixzz0TrG2PZNE