So I often wonder what drives people to become superintendents of large urban districts. The newcomer to Philadelphia, Arlene Ackerman, will arrive to this situation: a grim budget with little chance of any real increase in funding.

Why would take a position when you wouldn’t really be given the tools to do the job? Unless you’re a politician with an understanding of how to leverage certain kinds of funding from the state (see Vallas, Paul), you’ve got no real chance of success.