The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City school board approved a reduction in staff for the upcoming school year during a work session on Thursday
The district is facing declining enrollment because of competition with charter and private schools, dropping birth rates, and families moving away.
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Superintendent Rodney Trice recommended cutting 22 staff positions including many central administration and leadership roles. The cuts aim to save between $1.5 and $2 million annually.
Board members on Thursday lobbied to save three positions - two mental health specialists and one autism specialist.
Of the 19 positions approved for elimination, five are currently vacant.
Trice said those who would potentially be impacted by the cuts were notified in March. He said that while different positions were offered to those staff members, not all offers were comparable to their current jobs.
In addition to staff cuts, leaders are also considering closing some schools.
The school board has identified five schools that are more than 55 years old that could be closed.
On Thursday, the board is set to receive a presentation from Carolina Demography about student enrollment projections for the next 10 years. Their data shows that Chapel-Hill Carrboro City Schools have lost 1,500 students since 2020.
They are projected to lose nearly 1,000 students in the next 3 to 5 years with an additional decline of more than 600 students by 2036.