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

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