On the National Journal's Education Experts blog, Arthur Rothkopf looks at mayors and schools, two selections:

I agree with those who say that mayoral control is not a panacea for the ills that confront our public education system.  At the same time, the successes achieved in Chicago, New York, and Boston can be attributed in substantial part to the fact that the chief executives of those cities have taken responsibility for improving the quality of public education and are willing to be held accountable for success or failure...

At the end of the day, the key issue is whether the children in the system are receiving the quality education they require to make them career-ready and college-ready.  This has certainly not been happening under the traditional school board model.  Further experimentation with mayoral control is a big step in the right direction.