role of the superintendent?

I definitely agree that there are some positive changes Emanuel intiated in the school district of Chicago, but that many of his ideas concerning charters and evaluations are questionable, and it's good that Garcia is challenging those ideas and that many Chicago residents, including teachers and parents of students, are supporting him. I absolutely believe that putting less of a focus on testing and more focus into improving neighborhood schools and their ability to engage and teach students with many different needs would have a positive effect on the overall performance of the school district, graduation rates, etc. 

However, I feel like Garcia was pushed into the role of mayoral candidate, and that this race shouldn't be one entirely focused on education. It also might be a good thing for Emanuel and Garcia to be able to communicate and combine their ideas, since Emanuel has clearly improved some aspects of the Chicago school district. In this entire article, there wasn't a single mention of the superindent of Chicago schools, and what their role might be in closing schools, expanding charters, limiting standardized testing, etc. The articles we read about Philadelphia had a lot to say about the superintendent's role, and his plan for reorganizing the school district of Philadelphia. I think that all of these responsibilities should be in the hands of a superintendent, and not in the hands of the mayor. If, maybe, Garcia was elected superindent of the Chicago school system, and he was able to work with the mayor to come up with a plan for the school district, solutions could be found that more Chicago residents agreed with, and those who voted for and supported for Emanuel as mayor for other reasons than his educational policies, wouldn't feel the need to suddenly change their minds and their votes because he wanted to close more schools. Then, possibly, they could together work out a way to limit charter schools and standardized testing, and decide when it is necessary to close an underperforming school.