The article reveals the features of the municipal educational system restructuring which includes several mandatory stages. These stages correspond to the general concepts that are determined by the process approach in terms of technology, but the content has the specificity typical for projects development, considered as a way to manage changes in such complex social systems as a municipal education system and regional educational system. The authors note that when developing the program it is important to model reflected the seven reference signs of restructuring, structural and functional components of the project, characteristics and features of the educational system as an object of influence and change. Comparison of reference signs of restructuring and structural and functional components of the program\project of restructuring the educational system are presented in tables. During the research we used the following theoretical and empirical methods: the analysis of scientific literature, synthesis and comparison, modeling and projection, scientific approaches to the study and generalization of experience on the problem.