Educational improvement can occur if school decisionmaking is shifted from centralized, "top down" administration to individual school control cooperatively directed by the principal, the staff, and parents. Site-based management allows the school a high degree of autonomy by placing the responsibility and authority for decisions at the school level. The Bellevue, Washington, school district has identified 10 components of school-centered decisionmaking and renewal; a number of other school districts in the United States and Canada have developed similar site-based management programs. Included among the 10 components are: (1) establishing a framework through district mission statements and goals; (2) providing staff development and training guided by local school needs; and (3) maintaining a continuous dialog regarding roles at both the district and the school levels. In many states, county and regional education service districts provide support to local districts and serve as an intermediate agency between the state department of education and the local district. As schools are empowered to make their own decisions, in order to continue to play an important role in the education of students, education service districts must become more responsive and competitive in the delivery of their services to individual schools. (18 references) (KM)