The authority of a school principal over teachers, student teachers, teacher aides, and other employees is the subject of this chapter. In order to discharge duties properly, a principal must have the power to enforce prompt obedience to commands. He or she has the inherent authority to curtail any disruptions in the functioning of the school, the paper states. It discusses specific court cases dealing with this inherent authority, especially as regards teachers. Detailed discussion is offered of the assignment of extracurricular activities to teachers and a principal's managerial prerogative to assign them. A short discussion is offered of the hiring and use of student teachers and teacher aides. The paper concludes that as more and varied categories of personnel are assigned to principals, an increasing amount of a principal's time will be spent on personnel matters. (Author/LD)