RE: Question 1: Who's in charge?

Perhaps if we had a model of "ONE SYSTEM" of education in the state we could be more efficent in governance and finance.  If we had a shared data base of students/transcripts and common course numbering students could then move through the systems without redundancy and more efficiently.  Having a system where students demonstrate competencies rather than completing courses would allow students to move at their own pace towards completion.  Local control is a myth within this complexity of bureaucracies.  Having "ONE SYSTEM" would abrogate the necessity of "articulation agreements" and remove several levels of management and administration that would free up funds for learning.
-lynda