The responsibility for hiring and firing personnel, for example, really lies in the hands of the superintendent when all decisions of the principal regarding staffing must be approved by the superintendent. The only area where the law confers additional authority on principals is in the expulsion of students for possession of drugs, assault on a teacher or possession of a weapon, even though in these cases the student may appeal to the superintendent, who may overturn the principal s decision. The accountability and additional responsibilities added by education reform to the already demanding responsibilities of the job of principal have made the position unattractive to the typical aspirants to the principalship, the assistant principals. Our surveys indicate that more than half of the assistant principals responding do not aspire to the principalship. Superintendents acknowledge the decreasing number and declining quality of applicants for vacant positions.
Principals note the same trends in applicants for assistant principals.
School Council co-chairs highlighted the importance of stability and consistency in the principalship. Principals and assistant principals echoed this concern for a stable principalship, pointing out its importance in bringing about school reform and in providing a proper environment for student learning. Under The Education Reform Act of 1993, the principal can receive a one to three year contract subject to non-renewal at the end of the contract period for any reason. Frequent turnover in the principalship and the apprehension which current principals feel relative to their employment is cause for alarm. School council co-chairs also said that the decline in the quality and the decrease in the quantity of principal applicants may have serious consequences for the future of educational leadership in the Commonwealth.