Freddie Thomas High School, World of Inquiry No 58, Children's School of Rochester No. 15, and Dr. Charles T. Lunsford School No.19 have been chosen by the city school district to become "autonomous" schools. The four schools will operate beginning in September 2010 with a greater degree of autonomy from the district's central office when it comes to budget management and staffing.

One big example: teachers with seniority will not be able to automatically transfer into these schools.

Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard is working toward a portfolio of schools that fit three categories: Dream Schools, which are tightly monitored by the district's central office; antonymous schools, which will have some independence; and eventually, charter schools, which will be fully independent schools.

The principals and leadership teams in each of the schools had to apply for the status, and 80 percent of the teachers in the schools had to vote in favor of the change. School-based planning teams - a group comprised of administrators, teachers, students, and parents to vet performance improvement decisions in each school - also had to approve the change.

Seven schools applied to become autonomous schools, but there is some dispute over how the Rochester Teachers Association conducted the vote in at least one of the schools, Northwest College Preparatory, where the votes fell short.

"We don't know the actual vote count, and the process seems a little unclear," says Tom Petronio, a spokesman for the district.