In most cases, schools are ran by schoolboards, who are directly elected by the public. And since school board members tend to represent a smaller group of people, most are very in tune with what their constituents want. If not, people tend to become fairly agitated, fairly quickly and that leads to recall or defeat at the polls. Many schoolboard members are not paid or paid very little.
Teachers are hired by the board and sign yearly contracts. Curriculum is set by the board, usually to meet a certain state standard.
