Alexis Kane is speaking for herself, but the sentiment is widespread.

"When I step out of my office and I'm at yard duty, or I go into classrooms, then I know it's all worth it," said the principal of Pu'ohala Elementary in Kane'ohe. "But when I'm up at 1 or 2 in the morning trying to refine an academic plan or read my e-mails, it's 'What's wrong with this picture?' "

Hawai'i's public school principals are stressed out. They're on the verge of the biggest change in education the state has seen in three decades, and a huge part of it rests on their shoulders.

These educators, long used to 10- and 12-hour days, are now also responsible for everything from their school's spending and performance scores to the creation of enhanced academic lives for students lagging in national tests, to creating a powerful and passionate presence for their school community councils.

Under the Weighted Student Formula that's part of the Reinventing Education Act passed in 2004, principals will control their own funds next year under new lump-sum budgeting practices. That means adding a whole new level of expertise to careers already weighed down with giant expectations.

Add to that new performance contracts, scheduled to go into effect in the 2006-07 academic year, making principals personally responsible — with sanctions — for student achievement.

"There's no question that the stakes are much higher than they've ever been," said Catherine Payne of Farrington High, a principal for 20 years. "There's so much uncertainty about what we're about. And the people leading us are still confused about what's going to happen.

"And the performance contracts for principals, that's a big mystery. That's what we worry about. We're going to be evaluated on things we don't really have control over."

Budgeting. Academic planning. Leading school community councils. Most of all, thinking outside the box they've been trained to stay inside their whole careers. Not to mention trying to have a life.

"Our principals are human, too," said Pu'ohala's Kane. "They need to have their own lives, too. I know we're burning the midnight oil ... I was doing that before all of this (change) so I can't imagine (the future.) I do need to sleep."

Some say it could drive more principals into retirement.

"I left two years ago, and it's getting a lot more difficult," said Glenn Nakamoto, a former principal who is now a personnel specialist with the DOE. "It's overwhelming now."

DOE personnel specialist Brian Mizuguchi, another former principal, said none of those in the principal ranks have yet applied for retirement this year.

However, within the next three years, 51 percent of the state's principals will reach retirement age, which is as low as age 55 with 30 years of service.

"It's a hard job," said Randy Moore, DOE program manager for the Reinventing Education Act. "And the bench is not deep. There are some schools where they had to bring back retired principals because nobody wanted the job."

Kalei Napu'elua, chair of the 24-member Farrington School Community Council, worries that the new demands will also keep bright, ambitious younger teachers from going into school administration.

As for whether the changes will cause more veterans to retire?

"I think it's too early to tell," said Napu'elua. "But those principals who will be finding it difficult to make ends meet (under the new student formula) might find it easier to opt out."

On the plus side, principals just received large salary increases in moving from 10-month to 12-month contracts, and there also are changes coming to the State Retirement System that will benefit those who stay for several more years.

Meanwhile, school budgets are due in the next few weeks, and financial training sessions by the state Department of Education are ongoing, with principals getting crash courses in how to mesh academics with money.

"We're going to run the numbers for the first time," said Kapolei Middle School principal Annette Nishikawa of an imminent meeting with the school's administrative services assistant.

Nishikawa has more than 30 years of service to the Department of Education, including years as a teacher, then vice principal in some of the most underperforming schools. But she's now sleeping poorly, stressed by the additional demands of her job, and working till after 10 at night on paperwork from a day that began at 7:30 a.m.

"There are many nights when I get up in the middle of the night and I can't go back to sleep because I'm thinking about issues I have to deal with," she said.

In Kalihi, Farrington's Payne often gets to school around 7 a.m. and is still there 11 hours later when a now-empty parking lot locks up at 6 p.m. Two or three evenings each week can also see a night meeting. Though she used to be a runner, that pastime is long gone.

With more than 30 years in the DOE, Payne could retire in a year. She said she doesn't yet know what she'll do, but she's passionate about her job and the children she serves.

There's even concern among the principals' Hawai'i Government Employees Union bargaining unit. Lei Desha, HGEA rep for the principals, said there still are negotiations over what the new performance contracts will say, and what principals will be held accountable for.

"None of it has been finalized," said Desha. "We don't envision the sanctions would be any different than what could happen today. ... But until we can iron out the details, there are ... concerns about what principals will be held accountable for and whether it's going to be fair."

Desha said both sides have talked about a "growth model" to evaluate performance, meaning looking at how far each school has come compared to where it began rather than setting an arbitrary level and forcing each school to meet that.

Help in making changes is available to principals. The department is constantly scheduling training in fiscal accounting and has its own mandatory Principals Academy with several training initiatives. The nonprofit Collaborative Action for Public Education, first established under the Business Roundtable, offers further training.

"The purpose is to try to translate effective business practice into the schools," said CAPE executive director Karen Aka. "They've always been asked to be an instructional leader, but now there are two additional roles being given to them — one is to be a change leader and the other is an organizational management leader."

The training Aka's organization provides offers principals the opportunity to reorganize their time, and to streamline or expand the skills and responsibilities of those around them.

"For example," said Aka, "there was an elementary school principal, Karen Liu at King Kaumuali'i Elementary on Kaua'i, who taught her whole school leadership team how to run effective meetings, and now she's going to a lot fewer meetings because she doesn't have to run them anymore. She says having that training allowed her to restructure her time."

District superintendents also are stepping into new roles as additional supports for their principals.

"They're telling me they're in a steep learning curve and they need support and they need time," said Windward-district superintendent Lea Albert of her principals. For her part, Albert said, she's making herself as accessible "as humanly possible" and feels very positive.

"They want to make good things happen," she said. "As long as they have that kind of motivation, they're going to stay on in their schools."

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com.