St. Louis schools lose accreditation

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 board's 5-1 vote came after a temporary shut down of the meeting forced by angry students.

A transitional, three-person board, formed by state and district officials, will take over the district June 15. The locally elected board will remain in place but have no power.

The roughly 32,000-student district becomes unaccredited has struggled academically and financially for years.

About three minutes into Thursday's meeting several dozen students interrupted with chants of "No Takeovers." The state board temporarily adjourned the meeting as it warned it would do if there were any disruptions.

The chanting students moved closer to adjourned board members, and one male student was handcuffed by Capitol Police after a brief foot chase.

The state action comes after a special panel selected by the state board to recommend ways to improve St. Louis schools called in December for an unelected board to run the district.