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GREENSBORO — The investigation into Northern Guilford High’s athletics program dates to the fall of 2008, when Guilford County Schools officials first received complaints alleging several student-athletes were ineligible.

Nora Carr, chief of staff for Guilford County Schools Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green, said Thursday it was hard for the school system to ignore the complaints.

“When there’s more than one source of information and people are sharing the same rumor, you have to find out for yourself whether that rumor is true or not,” she said. “There was enough information received to look into this further.”

Carr said the investigation should conclude within a month. Already there have been casualties: Northern Principal Joe Yeager and Athletics Director Derrell Force resigned last Friday.

Carr would not describe the nature of the allegations because the investigation remains open. Nor would she say who complained to school system officials, except that the allegations originated “primarily within the county.”

At least two schools outside Guilford County also contacted school system officials with their concerns, a source familiar with the investigation said this week. The source, who asked not to be identified because the investigation is under way, said the school system is examining the academic and residential eligibility of nearly two dozen Northern student-athletes.

The source also said school system officials are trying to determine if Northern officials recruited students, a difficult allegation to prove.

Carr’s comments Thursday were the first extensive remarks made by the school system since the resignations of Yeager and Force.

Although she said she was limited in what she could talk about, Carr painted a picture of a comprehensive investigation, one that has included reviewing student documents, employee e-mails and phone records and interviews with current and former Northern employees.

“We’re mindful that people are upset and want answers, but we’re going to take our time with this,” she said. “We need to be thorough.”

The investigation is the latest, most public controversy involving Northern, which opened last year. The school drew most of its students from nearby Northwest and Northeast high schools. Both schools complained to system officials last year that Northern coaches were trying to persuade students to attend their school. Recruiting is against N.C. High School Athletic Association rules.

Sources said Northeast Athletics Director John Primm spoke with county Athletics Director Herb Goins last year and expressed concerns that Northern coaches were recruiting football players from Northeast.

Several Northeast football players transferred to Northern last year, including Marcus Harris, who was expected to be Northeast’s starting quarterback last season.

Harris lives in Northeast’s district, but his mother accepted a job as a custodian at Northern. In Guilford County, students may attend the school where a parent works regardless of where they live.

Sources said Goins arranged a meeting last summer between Primm, Force, Northeast football coach Tommy Pursley and Northern football coach Johnny Roscoe.

Northern was not formally investigated and no wrongdoing was found, according to sources. Primm, who like Goins has since retired, declined to comment Thursday night.

The Harris family could not be reached Thursday night. Harris’ transfer appears to closely mirror that of Jacob Lawson, a standout basketball player who lived in Caswell County before transferring to Northern last August.

Lawson was able to enroll at Northern because his father, Louis Lawson, was hired two weeks earlier as the school’s head custodian. The Lawson family moved to Guilford County — within Northern’s district — a few months later.

Louis Lawson also resigned Friday. His attorney, David Brown, said Lawson was forced to resign because school officials said he was not cooperating with the investigation.

Carr defended the investigation Thursday, saying the probe was being handled by school employees who are also handling their regular jobs.

“It takes a lot of time sifting through the innuendo, rumors and facts,” she said. “It takes time to delve into what’s true and what’s not. We’re going to do it right.”

Contact Robert Bell at 373-7055 or robert.bell@news-record.com