Section 59B. The superintendent of a school district shall appoint principals for each public school within the district at levels of compensation determined in accordance with policies established by the school committee. Principals employed under this section shall be the educational administrators and managers of their schools and shall supervise the operation and management of their schools and school property, subject to the supervision and direction of the superintendent. Principals employed under this section shall be responsible, consistent with district personnel policies and budgetary restrictions and subject to the approval of the superintendent, for hiring all teachers, athletic coaches, instructional or administrative aides and other personnel assigned to the school and for terminating all such personnel, subject to review and prior approval by the superintendent and subject to this chapter; provided, however, that the promotion and discipline, up to and including termination, of employees in custodial, maintenance and other non-teaching positions shall be conducted in accordance with any governing collective bargaining agreement. Prior to any assignment to a school of a teacher previously employed in another school in the district including, but not limited to, voluntary transfer, involuntary transfer, reduction in force, and recall, the superintendent shall consult in good faith with the principal concerning the assignment and application of any collectively bargained for selection criteria. In the case of an assignment in connection with the involuntary transfer or recall of a teacher to another school, any collectively bargained for selection criteria shall include the factors set forth in the seventh paragraph of section 42. The principal of any school which requires an examination for student admission shall be solely and exclusively responsible for hiring all teachers, instructional or administrative aides and other personnel and for terminating all such personnel without the requirement of review or prior approval by the superintendent before such hiring or termination. This section shall not prevent a person from serving as the principal of 2 or more elementary schools or the use of teaching principals in such schools.

It shall be the responsibility of the principal in consultation with professional staff of the building to promote participatory decision making among all professional staff for the purpose of developing educational policy.

The school superintendent of a city or town or regional school district including vocational-technical schools, may also appoint administrators and other personnel not assigned to particular schools, at levels of compensation determined in accordance with policies established by the school committee.