Public schools across the state are losing enrollment. That’s true even in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, which has long attracted families to the area with its reputation for strong academics and local funding.
That district’s school board expects to vote this week to study whether to close up to two elementary schools in fall 2027, at the earliest. The board is narrowing the criteria for that study, and a short list of three to five possible schools for consideration. Under state law, a school must be part of the study to be closed, but the board will make its decision later this spring after reviewing the results.
Hundreds of families packed the most recent meeting to advocate for their schools by speaking during the board’s public comment session. The speakers ranged from children, to a PE teacher whose job could be in danger, to parents who said they moved to Chapel Hill just for a school that now might close…