The decentralization policy of Tomorrow's Schools entrusted individual schools with their own operational funds, and responsibility for property and personnel decisions and for staff development. As a result, the role of the primary principal became wider, calling on new knowledge and skills. Principals were also given a greater workload and a faster pace. With the new policy came questions concerning the essence of the role of the principal. For those whose prime focus is on the legal accountability of each board for its school, the role of the principal was compared to that of a director or manager of a business. Others feel that a principal needs to focus on serving the children by providing educational leadership. A study explored the extent to which change has occurred in the role of the primary principal, and the extent to which these two views of the principal's role are compatible. The study consisted of systematic interviews in 5 different locations around the country, with 25 principals from a cross-section of small, medium, and large schools in different communities. Three group discussions in 3 urban areas involving 15 experienced principals are also included. The material from the interviews and discussions is complemented by quantitative surveys showing the widespread patterns of the results. Two appendixes are attached: (1) characteristics of new principals; and (2) interview schedule for study of role of primary principal in 1996. (JMD)