In a 1976 decision forbidding school boards to negotiate agreements with unions to share teacher tenure decisions (Cohoes City School District v. Cohoes Teachers Association), the New York State Court of Appeals assumed that boards actually make the tenure decisions. To test this assumption, researchers investigated the locus of decision-making in teacher evaluation and tenure matters. A survey of over 2,600 board members, superintendents, principals, and teachers in 83 New York districts sought their perceptions of evaluation fairness, evaluation controversy levels, and influences on and final authority in tenure determinations. Indepth interviews with eight districts' administrators and board members examined the tenure decision process, the roles of administrators and unions, tenure criteria, the impact of arbitration, and the locus of authority. Tabulation of the results showed that school boards' legal authority over tenure determination is in practice delegated to superintendents and principals. Hence, conclude the authors, the de facto tenure decision process differs from the de jure process assumed in the Cohoes case. Appendices include interview schedules and seven of the eight districts' teacher evaluation forms. (Author/RW)