This week, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools announced that two of its current principals will swap schools this summer ahead of the upcoming academic year.

Lucas Paulsen, the principal of Culbreth Middle School, will next serve as Carrboro High School’s principal after receiving approval from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education. The school system also announced that Carrboro High School’s current interim principal, Diego Mureño, will step into Paulsen’s current role at Culbreth.

The system announced Paulsen and Mureño’s new roles in two Facebook posts on Thursday, May 21.

“Culbreth is an incredibly special school filled with tireless educators and a wonderful family community,” Paulsen said. “I am deeply grateful for my time here and tremendously excited to continue serving our district’s students and families at Carrboro High beginning this summer.”

Paulsen’s new role will not be his first time working at Carrboro High School. He was an assistant principal at the school from 2018 until 2022, when he started at Culbreth. He was also an assistant principal at Cedar Ridge High School in Hillsborough from 2014 until 2018.

Mureño has worked as an administrator at Carrboro High School since 2021, rising from an assistant principal to an associate principal. He then took over as interim principal after former principal Helena Thomas was reassigned following the 2025 school year. The end of Thomas’ time at Carrboro High School was controversial, marked with both a parent and student walk out protesting her leadership, and an NAACP conference held in her support.

“It has been a great honor to serve Carrboro High School for the past 5 years,” Mureño said. Although it will be difficult to leave, I am excited to get to know the students, staff and community at Culbreth Middle School and continue the amazing work that is happening there.” 

The posts from CHCCS said families from both schools will be provided information in the near future about meet and greets with both new principals.

 

Featured images via CHCCS on Facebook

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.

Related Stories
‹
2025 Candidate Introductions: Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board Of Education
The 2025 race for the CHCCS Board of Education appears to be straightforward, with three candidates for three seats. Hear from each one.
CHCCS School Board Considers Vote on Plan B, Hybrid Learning Model
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education will be holding a virtual meeting tonight to discuss the district’s potential move into a hybrid learning model.
Candidate Intros: Chapel Hill and Carrboro City Schools Board of Education (4 Seats)
Hear from the five candidates running for Chapel Hill and Carrboro City Board of Education: Rani Dasi: https://chapelboroaudio.s3.amazonaws.com/2019/CANDIDATE%20INTROS/Dasi%20FINAL.mp3 Andrew Davidson: https://chapelboroaudio.s3.amazonaws.com/2019/CANDIDATE%20INTROS/Davidson%20FINAL.mp3 Jillian La Serna: https://chapelboroaudio.s3.amazonaws.com/2019/CANDIDATE%20INTROS/La%20Serna%20FINAL.mp3 Ashton Powell: https://chapelboroaudio.s3.amazonaws.com/2019/CANDIDATE%20INTROS/Powell%20FINAL.mp3 Deon Temne: https://chapelboroaudio.s3.amazonaws.com/2019/CANDIDATE%20INTROS/Temne%20FINAL.mp3
Board of Education Bars Sixth-Grade Students in Chapel Hill and Carrboro from Sports Teams
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education is putting sixth-grade students on the bench after a debate on whether they should be allowed to join middle school sports teams. That debate ended last Monday with board members endorsing a recommendation to raise the grade level at which students are allowed to participate in interscholastic […]
Revised Living Wage Policy Approved by Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
The Board of Education for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools unanimously approved a revised living wage policy for full-time employees and contractors on January 19. The policy aims to keep district salaries congruent with living wage estimates from Orange County Living Wage, a non-profit group that encourages voluntary payroll compliance from employers. Those estimates came from […]
CHCCS Board of Education Continues Search for Superintendent with a Public Forum
The search for a new superintendent of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education continues tonight at a meeting held at Chapel Hill High School at 7 p.m. This process has been in the works for the past few months following previous Superintendent Tom Forcella’s retirement announcement in May. The board and the community […]
Jewish Families Call For CHCCS To Stop Saturday School
We all have memories of sledding and snowball fights on the days we were fortunate enough to have school canceled as a child, but for some students, the snow day is a little more complicated. “In the Jewish faith, the Sabbath or Shabbat, begins at sunset on Friday and continues to Saturday evening,” Rabbi Jennifer […]
Michelle Brownstein Resigns From CHCCS Board of Education
Dr. Michelle Brownstein, who has been a member of the CHCCS Board of Education since 2009, announced her resignation Monday morning. “I highly value the time I participated as a member of this board and thank the voters for their support in the past two elections,” Brownstein said in her resignation letter, which was sent December […]
Common Core Standards Place New Demands On CHCCS Students
New state test results show room for improvement, but officials say that’s due in part to the fundamental nature of the curriculum changes.
CHCCS Announces Leadership Changes At Carrboro High And Culbreth Middle Schools
This week, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools announced that two of its current principals will swap schools in the upcoming academic year.
›