The purpose of this study was to examine whether district funding influences the leadership work of school principals. This study explored the role of the elementary principal in four school districts. Two districts were located in communities with an affluent population and the schools had an abundance of fiscal resources; the other two districts had higher free and reduced lunch rates and were below the adequacy level for school funding. All four districts were situated within 25 mi of one another in Lake County, Illinois. To achieve the aforementioned objective, the following research questions framed this qualitative study: (1) What elements of Standard 4 (curriculum, instruction, and assessment) and Standard 5 (community of care and support for students) from the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL) do building principals and their building teachers perceive as being most important to enact in their building? (2) At what level do building principals and their building teachers perceive that building principals enact the elements of Standard 4 (curriculum, instruction, and assessment) and Standard 5 (community of care and support for students) from the PSEL? (3) Does a relationship exist between the perceived importance of the elements found in Standards 4 (curriculum, instruction, and assessment) and 5 (community of care and support for students) from the PSEL and the school district's level of funding adequacy? (4) Does a relationship exist between the principals' perceived enactment of Standard 4 (curriculum, instruction, and assessment) and Standard 5 (community of care and support for students) from the PSEL and the school district's level of funding adequacy? These research questions were examined through data collection at the four research sites. An open-ended survey, interviews, and focus groups were conducted, and a case study of each site was constructed. Themes that emerged from the cross-case analysis included (1) perceptions of the school and community, (2) instructional and cultural priorities, (3) principal time, and (4) the impact of school funding. Examination of themes from the study led to multiple conclusions: (1) Creating a community of care in schools matters most; (2) despite decades of research, principals are still finding it difficult to devote time to instructional leadership; and (3) funding does impact schools and school leaders. The recommendations for educators are as follows. First, principals should focus on building their knowledge and developing the skills to effectively lead school communities that support students in a safe, caring, and healthy environment. Second, school districts aiming to hire principals should ensure that their screening and interview process identifies candidates who can foster safe, caring, and supportive school communities. Third, central office administrators must support principals in ways that allow the principals to devote the majority of their time to the elements of Standard 4 (curriculum, instruction, and assessment) and Standard 5 (community of care and support for students). Furthermore, the recommendations for future research are as follows. First, researchers should investigate what parents and guardians deem to be the most important element of principal leadership. Second, a follow-up study should be conducted that includes different standards from the PSEL. Third, research should examine alternate demographics, such as race and ethnicity. Fourth, studies should include elementary schools with varied funding levels across the state of Illinois. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]