The needs of people are always more important than the demands of
paper, real or electronic. Being a school leader is a people job, regardless
of the paper or e-mails that must be generated. In an ironic twist, the more
one pays attention to the needs of people, the less real and electronic paper
will be required. Conversely, making the needs of people secondary almost
always results in problems that will generate even more documents.
Everyone wants a piece of the school leader, whether he is a chairperson,
assistant principal, principal, or headmaster. At times, it seems he never
has a moment to think as he juggles multiple people problems. The cus-
todian is ignoring the plea of a teacher with a leak in her ceiling. The co-
ordinator of student activities feels the school treasurer is tying his hands
by the way she insists finances be handled. The students in Mr. Lime’s
seventh grade class are signing a petition because they feel his required
forty-page social studies paper is too long. The director of the spring
musical comedy presentation is up in arms because three teachers will
not release students for the required rehearsals. The union representative
wants to see the school leader about unprofessional activities expected
of the secretarial staff. Parents are lining up outside the principal’s door
because the school was listed, along with seven hundred others, as having
“asbestos issues.” And the list goes on.
Yes, the school leader must put the finishing touches on the a report to
the superintendent due next week, but each of these people issues has the
potential to blow up in his face if he doesn’t deal with them as they arise,
so he acts as follows:
- He speaks with the custodian to find out why the water is leaking; if
necessary, he arranges for another classroom for the teacher until the
repair is made. If the repair is beyond the scope of the custodian’s re-
sponsibility, he contacts the superintendent and central custodial office
to ask that qualified plumbers be sent to the school as soon as possible.
He is sure to indicate that student achievement in the affected classes
will suffer and, if the problem is not addressed in a timely fashion, the
Parent Association will become involved. - He finds out that the new school treasurer is really following the dis-
trict’s regulations on the disbursement of money (regulations her pre-
decessor apparently ignored—to his and the principal’s peril) and so he
52 Chapter 5