Paper Title
Leadership and The Micropolitics of School District Decentralization in The United States

Abstract
This case study of school district educational reform in the United States adds to the knowledge base of our understanding of the microplitics of educational policy implementation. Middle managers’ political acquiescence and resistance to district-wide decentralization and distributive leadership initiatives were studied using a longitudinal, ten-year (2008-2018) case study method. Middle managers risked termination if they failed to implement legislated reform policies and the superintendent’s directives. On the other hand, if they successfully implemented such policies their positions would become redundant. Findings from the case study discussed in this paper that superintendent’s success at implementation of district-wide decentralization policies is related to the nature and structure of microplolitics at the middle management level of the organization. Keywords - Superintendent, leadership, educational reform, decentralization, micropolitics, middle management