I've found some useful ways of making my grievances known in the past year, though. One advantage of living downtown is that everything, including the school district admin buildings, is in walking distance. I don't even bother with phone calls. They're not nearly as effective as a face to face.
This was the first year in our district for our superintendant, and he was left an absolute mess by the previous super. Jury is still out on how effective he will be, but I saw some very positive signs. The first time I called the district to complain about the principal, I spoke with the super for nearly two hours. The next day, the principal was out of the school most of the day, in an unscheduled meeting with the admin. Not long after that, the school was assigned three additional teachers and two "behavioral specialists"--enforcers, basically. The enforcers were given the go-ahead by the admin to address disciplinary issues in ways that the principal would not. That made a big difference in the school, but it was the tip of a very big iceberg.
I can guarantee you that ten parents have unspeakable power within a small district and twenty or so unified parents could change almost anything. Look at what you accomplished with ONE phone call! Now multiply that by 10 or 20 and the principal would be out this year.