Parents, students and staff urge board to address Carrboro High administration, request outside mediator

Speakers at a Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education meeting urged the board to address a pattern of staff fear and alleged administrative failures at Carrboro High School, and asked the board to bring in an outside mediator so teachers and staff can raise concerns safely.

The speakers — parents, a recent alumnus, and current students and educators — described recurring problems with communication and supports at Carrboro High and said internal channels have not resolved them. Melinda Manning, who identified herself as “the cochair of the Carrboro High School Improvement Team,” told the board “They want to be heard.”

Why it matters: multiple speakers tied staff working conditions to student outcomes and said cuts to programs and staffing are already prompting some families to move schools. The board heard requests for specific remedies — an independent mediator, restored staffing for special-education supports and clearer communications — and public testimony framed the concerns as districtwide problems that…