High turnover and retirement rates for elementary and high school principals could compromise the state’s education reform efforts, according to a recent study.

While two-thirds of principals have been in their current positions for about seven years, one-third leave their jobs every two years and more than half aim to retire during the next few years, according to the University of Maine College of Education and Human Development study.

The trend doesn’t bode well for the accountability changes the federal and state governments are seeking, said education Professor Gordon Donaldson who co-authored the report.

“Strong and continuous leadership … is tremendously important at a time when the state and educators themselves are expecting their schools to improve,” he said Tuesday.

Since improvement requires leadership, schools need principals who “stay in the position long enough to form a team with faculty and community so that the school can begin to move forward instead of repeating the same old practices over and over again,” Donaldson said.

The report, which focuses on 363 principals serving Maine schools in 2001, also contains data from a 1997 survey of principals. Other studies will follow in 2005 and 2009, providing data and insight into the workloads and high turnover among kindergarten through grade 12 principals in Maine and nationwide and the difficulty in finding qualified people to fill the positions.

Between 30 and 40 percent of principals said they are seriously considering leaving their jobs because they find them stressful, intrusive and frustrating, Donaldson said.

Meanwhile, there are fewer and fewer applicants for principal positions because people “perceive it to be a tough job,” he said.

The 2001 data show the average Maine principal is working 58 hours a week, up from 56 in 1997. Half reported spending more than 60 hours per week on the job.

Latest figures also show that the typical principal is overseeing 40 people, or 37 percent more staff than in 1997.

Principals want to be involved in improving the educational program and in helping teachers learn to do their jobs better. But instead they spend most of their time supervising personnel, building public relations and disciplining students, according to the report, which also was authored by education professor Theodore Coladarci and Sedgwick Elementary School Principal Donald Buckingham.

“The picture I have from this is that it’s great work that cannot be sustained except by Superman or Superwoman,” Donaldson said.

But even though burnout may prompt principals to leave their positions, the large majority of those who responded to the survey “enjoy their work, feel as though they’re making a difference, and feel professionally fulfilled,” said Donaldson.

Superintendents and school boards can lessen principals’ stress by setting clearer, more attainable goals, helping them follow through on a few top priorities and supporting their professional development, according to Donaldson.

One of the greatest ways to improve principals’ learning and satisfaction is to have an administrative team in the school district that makes plans together “so principals don’t feel like they’re all alone,” he said.