Chronology

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1. Recent decades · 1976–2026

2. 1977-1983
   Appointment, election or service · Orange County Michael Simmons becomes superintendent of the Orange County schools

   Dr. Michael Simmons, superintendent in Dillon, South Carolina, since 1974, took charge of the Orange County schools in 1977. He resigned in 1983 to lead the Johnson City, Tennessee, schools.

3. 1978
   Construction or physical change · Hillsborough Cameron Park School is enlarged again under Superintendent Michael Simmons

   A further addition to Cameron Park Elementary in Hillsborough went up in 1978, the third stage of the building, which by the early 1980s housed kindergarten through fifth grade.

4. 1979
   Construction or physical change · Hillsborough Orange High School's Cultural Arts Building is fitted with a heat pump system

   A note to the Orange High plant table records a heat pump system in 1979 for the school's Cultural Arts Building, work that falls in Michael Simmons's term as superintendent.

5. November 6, 1979
   Orange County Orange County voters defeat a $17.8 million school bond backed by both superintendents

   Superintendents Michael Simmons of the Orange County schools and Robert Hanes of Chapel Hill-Carrboro had spoken for the bonds, saying both systems needed classrooms for growing enrollment and for students with special needs. Voters rejected them 7,447 to 4,517, and Simmons blamed the size of the issues and the economy.

6. July 1983
   Appointment, election or service · Orange County Dannie G. Lunsford becomes superintendent of the Orange County schools

   Dr. Dannie G. Lunsford, who had come to the county in 1971 as principal at Efland and risen through the instruction office to associate superintendent, succeeded Michael Simmons as superintendent in July 1983.

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Compiled and maintained by the Friends of the Orange County Public Library from county records, the sources named on each card, and the index’s event pages. Last updated October 2, 2026.