Very little research is available nationwide that measures the administrative use of computers in rural schools. A state survey of 154 rural Kentucky secondary school principals (representing a 51% response rate) focused on their knowledge about computers and use of computers for school administrative purposes. Only 14% of respondents had a computer at home, and only 21% had had special computer training. For administrative tasks related to students, computers were used by 72% for state standardized testing; by 51-63% for records, attendance, scheduling, and grade reporting; and by 27% for career planning. For administrative tasks related to staff, computers were used by 18-27% for records, evaluation reports, assignment, and leave. Only 15% of respondents were very committed to administrative computer use, while 56% were somewhat committed. This report contains recommendations to the Kentucky Department of Education concerning mandatory computer training for principals, guidelines and funding for the purchase of computer hardware and software, and networking among administrative computer users. A literature review discusses the ideal school administrative computer system, barriers to computer acceptance in rural schools, and factors to consider in hardware and software selection. (SV)