The document was requested by the New York State Charter Commission for Staten Island as a background briefing paper to inform the commissioners on the various ways the governance of the public schools in a proposed new city of Staten Island would or could be structured. It is a review both of historical and constitutional issues and concerns related to this critical area of government responsibility. It analyzes the electoral systems and the choices available to the Commissiopners so that they could be informed and aware of all of their potential decisions regarding how to insure that this critical and elemental service for citizens would be sufficient with regard to accountability and adherence to United States Constitutional concerns regarding civil and voting rights of all Americans.