HARRISBURG, Pa. - Principal Margaret Jaskulek doesn't want the spacious desk, the high profile and the nearly six-figure salary that accompany the key to the superintendent's office.
She has turned down superintendent job offers in two districts in the past two years to continue working at a struggling urban high school in Philadelphia.
''I don't want a promotion and I don't want the raise if it means I have to work in a building that students never even enter,'' said Jaskulek, who works at Samuel Fels High. ''I want to be relevant to young lives, and this is where I get to do that - in the trenches.''
Around the country, educators point to people like Jaskulek as they struggle to explain why there are so few female school superintendents when the teaching profession is otherwise dominated by women.
According to the American Association of School Administrators, the number of women occupying the top office in school districts across the nation seems to have stalled at just under 20 percent in most states.
''Ironically, women have made great strides in breaking into the executive office in almost every profession except the one in which they are most involved - education,'' said Judy Seltz, ASSA director of planning.
In Pennsylvania this year, 14.8 percent of superintendents are women, compared with 11.8 percent in 1991. New York and Texas have also seen only minor gains in the past 10 years, settling at 17.7 and 13 percent, respectively. In all of these states, women constitute more than two-thirds of the teaching work force.
State school officials said the low rates are not caused by discrimination but scant interest among women.
''We have been encouraging more women to apply, but it would appear that many women simply don't want to be superintendents,'' said Stinson Stoup, who handles recruiting for the Pennsylvania School Board Association. ''I'm not sure that we should be bothered if women choose not to apply for the jobs.''
In California, state education officials said they have held seminars that encourage women to apply for superintendent positions. Educators in Texas also tout recruiting efforts such as seminars and a candidate targeting board.
Others close to the problem believe that there is discrimination at work and that much of the recruiting is just for show.
Jocelyn Winters, a spokeswoman for the Texas chapter of the National Organization for Women, said many school boards have no intention of hiring a woman superintendent.
''In the old days, they would seek out three male candidates. Now they seek out four candidates, one of whom is a woman they have no intention of hiring,'' said Winters, who has studied the situation nationally.
In recent years, finding qualified applicants of either gender has been tough across the nation. Since 1999, the top positions have been vacant in nearly half of the country's 50 biggest school districts.
The job's lack of popularity doesn't surprise those who study education. The superintendent's post can be highly political, and occupants often find themselves dealing with multiple interest groups, a powerful school board and unending turmoil.
Would education be different if there were more women superintendents?
''Absolutely,'' said Becky Langford, a researcher at the Center for Creative Leadership, an education think tank in North Carolina. ''Studies have shown that women tend to bring strong new ideas on organizing an office and making it accessible to customers or, in this case, the public.''
Seldon Whitaker, an education professor at Penn State University, wonders if the profession shouldn't take a hint from the lack of interest.
''Who says the superintendent has to be this person who sits on a throne?'' Whitaker said. ''Just because it has always been that way, doesn't mean it has to stay that way. Maybe women don't want to be superintendents because they know the job stinks, and is too far from the battle.''
A few districts in Pennsylvania have already begun to redefine the job.
Vicki Phillips, who is in her third year as superintendent of the Lancaster district, said she was enticed to take the job with promises that she would be the district's ''top teacher'' - ''not a number-cruncher.''
In Philadelphia, Jaskulek said her daily experiences reinforce her ''thanks, but no thanks'' attitude toward a promotion.
Not too long ago, Jaskulek heard a girl crying outside her office door. After a brief conversation, the girl confided that she had sex with a boy she later learned might have the AIDS virus.
Jaskulek put her daily paperwork aside and had a heart-to-heart talk with the girl, helping her set up an AIDS test.
''The next day, she came bounding down the hall with this big smile on her face and we embraced for several moments,'' Jaskulek said. ''She never even had to tell me the results. That's why I don't want to leave this office.''
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On the Net:
Pennsylvania Department of Education: http://www.bbpages.psu.edu/
American Association of School Administrators: http://www.aasa.org/
Center for Creative Leadership: http://www.ccl.org/