When the state of Texas took control of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) in the summer of 2023, it marked the end of a multi-year legal battle between the district and the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the beginning of a community-led campaign to re-take control of the district. Since, students and community groups have rallied to…

This book is a collection of 14 papers that grew out of activities and conferences of the Committee for Community Research of the International Sociological Association. All of the papers reflect a general concern for establishing an international basis for the study of local political power and decision-making. The various authors attempt to…

The steady drift toward state control of community college education is a growing issue of concern. This movement has not come from significant changes in the authority or responsibilities of the state community college boards or agencies so much as from a variety of other national and state precursors. This document attempts to establish the…

This paper presents the idea of formal neighborhood government as a beginning to discussion and debate. Only by clearing away the confusion over what changes are being asked for by the proponents of decentralization can the neighborhood government movement be placed in historical perspective. The justification for neighborhood government,…

Even though public school districts are structured with the expectation of responsive governance, most school boards are not particularly responsive to their constituents. School boards from politically contentious districts tend to be more responsive, but they have even less success challenging the dominance of the superintendent than do less…