Hartford Mayor Heads Board

Giving life to the old saw that if you want a job done right, you’ve got to do it yourself, the mayor of Hartford, Conn., is now doubling as the chairman of the city’s school board.

His addition of that new role last month was the final piece in a series of changes that have governance as the struggling district of 24,000 students moves back from state management to local control.

And it could stand as a national first. Experts say they know of no other city in which the mayor also...