As schools tighten their belts, principals' powers erode

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By Mila Koumpilova
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Updated: 05/19/2011 11:00:19 PM CDT

How many classrooms to fill with third-graders? What technology to buy? How many art teachers, nurses and counselors to hire?

Principals in districts across the metro area won't get to make some of those calls for the coming school year.

A number of metro-area districts are shifting various staffing, budget and curriculum decisions from individual schools to the district office.

Experts caution curtailing the decision-making power of principals and their teams can hurt their ability to tailor education to students' needs and come up with creative solutions to money woes.

But district leaders say it's only fair students across schools should get a consistent experience, and that's especially vital in this era of ever more stringent state and federal standards.

A push for more central office control is a predictable development in lean times.

"When money is as scarce as a hen's teeth, you literally want to have your thumb on every dollar," said Charlie Kyte, the executive director of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators. "The big driver here is the budget."

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