Missouri Officials Vote To Strip Accreditation, Take Over St. Louis' Struggling Schools

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) _ The state school board voted Thursday to strip the accreditation from the St. Louis school district and take control of its struggling schools. <br/><br/>The 5-1 vote came after

Thursday, March 22nd 2007, 11:45 am

By: News On 6

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) _ The state school board voted Thursday to strip the accreditation from the St. Louis school district and take control of its struggling schools.

The 5-1 vote came after angry students chanting ``No Takeovers!'' temporarily shut down the meeting. One student was handcuffed by Capitol Police after a brief foot chase.

Under the board's decision, a transitional, three-person board, formed by state and district officials, will take over the St. Louis schools on June 15. The locally elected board will remain in place but have no power.

The roughly 32,000-student district has struggled academically and financially for years. A special state panel appointed to recommend ways to improve the schools called in December for an unelected board to run the district.