Last week Tom Forcella participated in his last Board of Education meeting as Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools superintendent.

Chairman James Barrett and the rest of the board thanked Forcella for his five years of service in the district.

“I know that (Forcella) didn’t want a big public to-do,” Barrett said. “But we wanted to take a moment to say thank you for all that you’ve done.”

Forcella has been a part of the district since 2011 and has overseen major projects such as the creation of Project Advance and the bond referendum scheduled for November.

“I want to thank the board members for giving me the flexibility to do what we needed to do,” Forcella said. “I’ve had a great administrative team and a great group of principals on board.”

As a parting gift, current and former board members chipped in to give Forcella a picture of landscape in Chapel Hill to help him remember his time in the area.

“The board members, we don’t work with (Focella) every day, but (his) style and what (he) does for our kids impacts us a lot,” Barrett said.

He will officially retire at the end of the month.

Dr. Jim Causby will take over as interim superintendent while the district looks for a permanent replacement.

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