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The Berkeley Unified School District had to fill almost a fourth of its school principal jobs this year, and faced a shortage of candidates that administrators say is getting worse. 

“The pool of applicants is really shrinking, and we were just lucky,” said school board President Terry Doran. “This year, the amount of applicants was far smaller than it was in the past.” 

At the end of last year, Berkeley, with 19 schools, had principal openings at five schools: Willard Middle and Emerson, Jefferson, Rosa Parks and Thousand Oaks Elementary Schools. The district had to advertise a second time this summer for the Emerson position, Doran said.