Board hears detailed timeline, risks and parent impacts of move from PowerSchool to Infinite Campus
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Summary
District staff and North Carolina Department of Public Instruction representatives briefed the board Feb. 3 on the statewide transition from PowerSchool to Infinite Campus, outlining a July production cutover, data-cleanup needs, earlier scheduling deadlines, and training plans.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools staff and representatives from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) briefed the board Feb. 3 on the statewide transition from PowerSchool to Infinite Campus and what the district plans for a July 2025 production cutover.
Diane Vilwalk, executive director for assessment and research, introduced the presentation and DPI staff joining the meeting. Matt Mayo and Tim McArthur provided the timeline and technical details: Infinite Campus was chosen by the State Board of Education in November 2023; phase 1 districts trained in spring 2024 and some went live within four months. CHCCS joined phase 2, began training in September 2024, and is scheduled to turn off PowerSchool access June 20, 2025 and go live on Infinite Campus on July 8, 2025.
District staff emphasized two technical priorities: cleaning and linking household data so parents and guardians are properly connected across the system, and moving course-registration deadlines earlier than usual so Infinite Campus can build schedules. For this year only, student registration data will not be available in the production registration system until July; staff said counselors should still be able to schedule in July once the production site is live. Tim McArthur said the district will use a trial site to review how household links and schedules appear in Infinite Campus before production.
Presenters also described professional learning and supports: campus passport (video-based training), DPI regional learning consultants, Infinite Campus implementation staff, and a statewide knowledge base and customer support. District staff cautioned that early work will require coordination across departments — transportation, child nutrition, exceptional children, dual-language programs and summer-school planning — and noted potential cost savings if Infinite Campus premium products replace currently purchased third-party services.
Board members raised questions about whether staff would contact families when addresses or household records required correction. Staff said they plan to coordinate communications with district staff who have existing relationships with families and minimize unnecessary outreach; they also stressed that many changes are simple standardizations (for example, consistent address formatting) rather than requests for new documentation.
Why this matters: The SIS holds scheduling, attendance, grades, contact details and other mission-critical records. The transition affects spring scheduling, summer operations and parent access to student information, and staff said the district is working to limit operational disruptions and provide training before school starts in the fall.
