The main objective of this study was to assess the current status of community participation in thernmanagement of government secondary schools and thereby to identify the strengths and weaknesses; thenrnto provide alternative solutions to the identified problem.s .. The research methodology employed in thisrnstudy was descriptive survey me/hod because, it was appropriate in describing what was going on and torngather a large variety of data. Primary as well as secondary sources of data were used The primaryrnsources of data were teachers, members of PTA and KETB, education experts and minutes of meeting.rnSecondary sources of data such a ' plans and reports were also consulted Accordingly, questionnaires,rninterview andfocus group discussions were prepared and utihzedfor data collection. The questionnairesrnwere pilot tested The improved questionnaires were admini Â·tered to a sample of 173 subjects composedrnof 49 teachers, 21 PTA members, 24 KETB members and 79 experts in the zone and woredas. A total ofrn166(95.95 percent) of the questionnaires were properly filled in and returned. The data gathered werernanalyzed using statistical techniques such as percentages and chi-square tests and then the findings werernrecorded The following were the major findings: there were some mechanisms practiced for therncommunity to participate actively. However with the. exception of contributing money, material and labor,rnwhich were found to be average, the participation oFthe community in planning, decision making,rnmanaging discipline and monitoring and evaluation was very low. Decisions were made by schoolrnprincipals and teachers who were members of some kind of committee in the schools. It was found thatrnprincipals and teachers undermine the contribution and capacity of KETB and PTA members. The majorrnfactors that hinder KETB and PTA members were found to be lack o/commitment, lack of skill or trainingrnto run the education system, inappropriate time and placern0/ meeting, lack of time, poor living standard,rnlack of confidence and perceiving that school principals and teachers were more knowledgeable, prerndetermined agendas and decisions made by principals and the belief that education is the responsibility ofrnschool prinCipals and teachers. Hence from the result of this study, it is possible to conclude that therncurrent status of community participation in managing government secondGlY schools was not at arndesired level and it was found to be low in most cases. Due to this low status of participation, thernachievements made were not encouraging in most Â·areas. of the management, and no significant effortsrnwere exerted to strengthen the capacity of KETB and PTA memberrnin promoting communityrnparticipation. Therefore to alleviate the above problems recommendations were 'uggested The suggestedrnrecommendations included allowing the communityrnparticipate in school management; providingrnadequate training to members of KETB and PTA, principals and teachers; creating a conducivernenvironment and arranging time and place of meeting on common agreement.