Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools received a $10,000 grant from Staples to support the system's teacher supply store last week.

Staples Foundation for Learning is shelling out the money to offer more supplies to the school district's teacher supply store, which runs in partnership with the East Chapel Hill Rotary Club. The store serves more than 400 staff members and 6,000 students in grades 7-12. Teachers are given vouchers for free classroom supplies at the store.

"We're able to provide all middle and high school classroom teachers and students, especially those from low-income families, with supplies and materials to support teaching and learning," said Kim Hoke, executive director of Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation, in a release. 

This is not the first time the Staples Foundation has supported CHCCS. Since 2008, the group has provided $20,000 to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation, the school district's non-profit arm.

The teacher store first opened its doors January 2008. 

Last week, Gov. Beverly Perdue signed the state budget, meaning Chapel Hill-Carrboro must now figure out what to do with the estimated $2.8 million loss they face.

The school board will be discussing details at Thursday's general meeting, but a copy of a tentative plan for the district has been posted on their website.

After the jump, a breakdown of the cuts (according to the posted document) and what the district plans to do to address each:

Susana Dancy, parent of two Carrboro High students and realtor, filed to run for a spot on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board today.

Dancy, who has spoken out for arts programs and academic equity at the relatively new Carrboro High, is the seventh candidate in the race. 

There are three open seats on the board this year.

The last day to file is tomorrow by noon.

East Chapel Hill High parent Christine Lee filed for school board elections today.

She joins five other candidates, including incumbent Greg McElveen, who are looking to fill three open seats on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board.

Lee has two kids at East Chapel Hill High and another who just graduated from the school. She has served on school improvement teams at Smith Middle and district-wide. She was also on the committee for high school redistricting a few years ago.

And there he is!

With three days to spare, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools board member Greg McElveen filed for re-election today.

McElveen has only been on the board for a year, serving out county commissioner Pam Hemminger's term.

He joins four other candidates vying for three open seats, listed in order of filing:  Michelle Brownstein, Gary Wallach, MaryAnne Gucciardi and J.M. (Joe) Green.

J.M. (Joe) Green filed for election to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board today.

The UNC-Chapel Hill education professor applied last November to fill the Town Council seat left vacant after Bill Thorpe died last September. Jim Merritt was selected instead.

Green is also director of UNC's Upward Bound program, which helps local high school students from underrepresented or low-income groups prepare for college.

By filing, Green seeks to fill one of three open seats on the board. He joins three other contenders: Michelle Brownstein, Gary Wallach and MaryAnne Gucciardi.

One week of filing remains.

Okay, so maybe it's starting to get just a little bit crowded.

Self-employed management consultant MaryAnne Gucciardi filed for candidacy today for one of three open seats on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board. Gucciardi ran in 2008 to finish out county commissioner Pam Hemminger's term. That seat was filled by Greg McElveen, who is expected to run for re-election.

Gucciardi was the former director of development at UNC's School of Medicine. She is also a Rashkis Elementary parent.

Gucciardi joins Gary Wallach and Michelle Brownstein in the race. There's still a little over a week left to file.

Gary Wallach is hoping the second time's the charm.

The former teacher filed today for one of three available seats on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board. Wallach ran and lost to two incumbents in the 2007 elections.

Wallach's 2007 campaign blog still exists here. There's also a candidate survey he completed back then for the N&O here. There's some detailed information on there about his previous experience and positions. (Fun fact: He was Frank Porter Graham Elementary's school mascot - a lion - for two years.)

Wallach and newcomer Michelle Brownstein are the only two filers so far. Incumbent Greg McElveen did tell us that he planned to run for re-election, however.

Candidate filing began Monday and continues until July 17.

Phoenix Academy has got its first real principal.

LaVerne Mattocks has been named the new principal of the alternative high school, which is transitioning from a program to a fully-functioning high school this fall.

The transition would make the school eligible for federal and state funding. It also requires Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools to develop a School Improvement Plan and to participate in state accountability measures - with relaxed standards.

North Carolina requires each school district to operate an alternative high school program.

Mattocks comes from Orange County Schools' Orange High School in Hillsborough, where she was assistant principal. She has also been assistant principal at both Riverside and Hillside High in Durham. She replaces director Burmadeane George, who retired last month.

In other appointment news, Cicily McCrimmon has been named the new principal of Phillips Middle School. She replaces Eileen Tully, who was named principal of East Chapel Hill High last month.

McCrimmon has been the assistant principal at Smith Middle School since September 2008. She assumes her new job July 8. The search for a new assistant principal at Smith Middle is underway.

At the end of the first day of election filing in Orange, a single name is down to run for one of three open Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board seats - and it belongs to a newcomer.

Parent Michelle "Shell" Brownstein tossed her name in the hat today. She didn't return our calls to chat this afternoon, but a slightly dated website says that Brownstein's a former UNC-trained surgeon with four kids. She served on the parent advocacy committee at Mary Scroggs Elementary and also the NC PTA. She's given several talks in the last year to raise awareness on the appropriate support for kids who are both gifted and disabled.

There are three seats open on the school board as chairwoman Lisa Stuckey and board members Jean Hamilton and Greg McElveen end their four-year terms this year. McElveen told us last week that he planned to run for re-election. Stuckey and Hamilton have both said they do not plan to run.

Election filing continues until July 17 at noon. In other races today:

CHAPEL HILL: Augustus Cho filed to run for mayor. Penny Rich filed for one of four council seats.

CARRBORO: Incumbents Jacquie Gist and Randee Haven-ODonnell and challenger Sammy Slade filed for three aldermen seats.

HILLSBOROUGH: Incumbents Tom Stevens filed for mayor and Mike Gering filed for Town Board.