What do you call someone with all of the responsibility but none of the power? OK, OK, I shouldn’t have asked a bunch of educators. You can stop raising your hand. I’m looking far west, at the board members of the Oakland Unified School District, who regained some authority earlier this month after having it stripped from them in 2003, as part of a state takeover (see this month’s cover story, “Come Together.”) At the time, the district was $80 million in the red and was, needless to say, in financial jeopardy. It took California officials hardly a beat to seize control of the struggling Bay Area district.

“Oakland’s issue is across-the-board poor achievement levels, however, you want to define that,” School Board President David Kakishiba told me during an interview for the article. What’s more, the school board hadn’t conducted itself so well in the past either, turning board meetings into political circuses. In the four years that they have been under state control, the board has pulled itself together, changed some faces, and proven it has what it takes to usher a troubled school system into a new era. They won’t get the reins back completely, though. Board members will have limited oversight, specifically in the areas of public outreach and policies that address the district’s continual drop in enrollment. Board members also will start collecting a $700 monthly stipend for their work. It’s not everything, but it’s a start.

Naomi Dillon, Senior Editor