Court-ordered citizen monitoring of school desegregation does little to increase participation in school politics by minorities, women, the powerless, or the uninvolved. The greatest effects of increasing community involvement are likely to be a little more effective desegregation and much more power and participation for those who already have…

Responds to criticisms of the community control approach to public education. Holds that community control was only unsuccessful because it was opposed by those interests who feared the consequences of participation by the poor, and that the idea should be given an opportunity to operate at the local level. (Author/GC)

The local school board has traditionally been the predominant control mechanism for public education in this country. Since the 1970s however, increased legislation and reform in statehouses across the nation have functioned to reduce the discretion enjoyed by local boards. This paper represents an attempt to sketch this increase in state…