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I'm in So. CA...the principals are "rotated" by the district to different schools every 5-7 years, but otherwise, it's about impossible to get rid of them. Don't know if they're formally tenured like the teachers, but some of them have been with the district for decades.

Wish there were a way to force the principals to be more responsive, and particularly to be more *responsible* without parent prodding. I don't enjoy the "squeaky wheel" role but feel forced into it at times -- i.e., why is it that no principal, janitor, child, or other parent has noticed that bathrooms at each successive school my eldest has attended were missing stall doors or locks? It took me "making waves" with each successive principal to effect the changes -- the changes *were* made, so at least that's something (grin!)-- but there was initially resistance (!) two out of three times (one principal even denied the situation existed until my daughter gave him a guided tour). Since it was obviously possible to fix them once a parent squeaked loud enough, why did I have to be the one to make the racket in the first place? (Groan!) Ah, well... After many years of volunteering, donating, meeting attending, etc., I just couldn't deal anymore with the bureaucratic inertia and increasing social and educational problems, and decided to channel my energies more positively into homeschooling, which has been a uniquely fulfilling experience.

Since it was obviously possible to fix them once a parent squeaked loud enough, why did I have to be the one to make the racket in the first place?

Some people subscribe to the theory that "the nail that sticks up gets smashed down" and are afraid to "squeak". It's a shame you can't get other like-minded parents to help.

I've always thought home-schooling would be fun.