Shortcomings of Decentralized Decisionmaking in N.Y.C. Detailed

By Ann Bradley

The introduction of school-based management and shared decisionmaking has neither freed New York City schools from bureaucratic constraints nor provided a vehicle for involving parents in schools, a study concludes.

The report by the Parents Coalition for Education in New York City calls the system's experiences with decentralized decisionmaking, which began in 1990, a "major disappointment.''

"The rhetoric is absolutely superb,'' said John Fager, a co-chairman of the advocacy group and the director of the study. "Yet when you look at it, there are so many, many rules and regulations, and when you talk to principals, teachers, and parents at the school level, they tell you...