The promulgation of the South African Schools Act in 1996 was a critical moment in the process of making a compromise between a centralized and a decentralized system. The act describes the establishment, membership, and responsibilities of school governing bodies as the vehicle for parental engagement and decision making. The article touches on five crucial assumptions that underpin the efficacy of the worldwide movement toward decentralized cooperative governance for schools, before proceeding to discuss two mandatory functions of South African school governing bodies--namely, those relating to policy matters and financial matters.