academic program. Councilman William Donald Schaefer, an alumnus of City College, convened a City Council hearing on the proposal, which stymied Paquin's effort. By the late 1970s, the school's population, academic program, and building were all in decline, in part reflecting the economic problems of the city as a whole. In 1977, the city school system allocated money to refurbish the school and bolster the college preparatory program. That same year the school system announced its intent to make City College coeducational; however, the all-male tradition did not end easily. Alumni argued for the uniqueness of a single-sex education system, and a task force studying the issue voted 11–6 in favor of keeping the all-male tradition. In a stunning reversal, the board of school commissioners voted to admit women citing constitutional concerns over equal rights. The following year City College enrolled women for the first time. Recent history By 1990, the school's academic program was once again deteriorating and enrollment was declining. The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools raised questions about the ability of City College to offer students an academically rigorous course of study. During this period of decline, the "A" Course was discontinued by Principal Joseph Antenson, who contended that the program was racially discriminatory—an argument Paquin had made nearly three decades earlier—and opted for a standardized curriculum. However, the change did little to improve the school; therefore, in 1992, the school system hired a private contractor to run City College. That action was a part of the unsuccessful "Educational Alternatives program", which lasted for about 14 months. Then, in 1994, Joseph M. Wilson was appointed principal of City College. Wilson, with the aid of alumni and parents, was able to secure more funding and autonomy from the school system, which were used to redesign the curriculum and to introduce the IB Diploma Program in 1998. The new academic program attracted increased attention to the school. In 2000, City College was recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education, which placed it among the best schools in the country. The following year, the Toronto National Post reported on the two-month-long task of searching for the perfect high school in Great Britain, the United States, and Canada. It "never found the perfect school ... [however] we found a few outstanding ones," the paper concluded. And one of these—the subject of a prominent