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 angry students forced a temporary shut down of the meeting.

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 has struggled academically and financially for years.

About 30 minutes into Thursday's meeting several dozen students interrupted with chants of "No Takeover." The state board temporarily adjourned the meeting, as it warned it would do if there were any disruptions.

As chanting students moved closer to board members, police stepped in to keep the two groups separated. Capitol Police said one male student shoved an officer and then was chased by police outside the building, where he was subdued with pepper spray, handcuffed and turned over to the custody of juvenile authorities.

The pepper spray also drifted into a crowd of other students who had followed behind the chase. Emergency medical personnel were called to the scene.

With most students still outside, the state Board of Education resumed its meeting, voting to strip the district's accreditation and to recommend Rick Sullivan -- an executive with St. Louis construction firm McBride and Son -- to lead the three-person replacement school board.

State Board of Education President Peter Herschend said St. Louis schools have been "performing miserably for the children."

"The standards met for kids in the city of St. Louis are dismal -- they have earned unaccreditation," Herschend, of Branson, said in an interview after the board's vote.

Many of the students said they were concerned that if the district was unaccredited, they would have a difficult time when applying for college.

"This is our future and they are messing it up when they take away accreditation from us," said Johnnie Fields, 17, a senior from Gateway High School who said he was concerned about the effect on his college scholarships.

"With the takeover, that will lead to more consequences for the students, more obstacles for going into higher education, and overall it's just not fair," added student Kaylan Holloway, 15, of Soldan High School, who had helped lead the chants.

State Education Commissioner Kent King said Thursday that the loss of accreditation typically should not affect students' scholarships or future school acceptances. The department surveyed several universities and found none that had an issue with the accreditation change, he said.

The president of the St. Louis district's current school board, Veronica O'Brien, who had supported the state takeover, left the building under police protection because some crowd members were yelling derogatory remarks at her.

"I think it's important for them to bring in some new leadership, some new administration, and someone who can really turn the district around," she said.

Superintendent Diana Bourisaw, who took over less than a year ago, expressed disappointment at the state vote, insisted the district was improving and said she hoped the new governing board would allow her to remain in charge.

The sole board member voting against the takeover was Stanley Archer of Kansas City, Gov. Matt Blunt's newest appointee to the board. Archer said he was concerned that a sound management strategy was not in place for when the transitional board takes control of the district.

"My goal is to ensure that whatever we put in place has the strategy, the insight and clear objectives to do what's best for the students we serve," Archer said.

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.

Before the vote, State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education staff said the St. Louis school district had failed to meet both academic and financial standards. The district met only four the 14 performance standards set by the state, failing in such areas as middle and high school math and communication arts test scores, graduation rates, attendance rates and college placement.

To remain provisionally accredited, as the district has been, St. Louis schools would need to meet six of the 14 standards; full accreditation requires meeting nine standards. The school district's operating budget has shown a negative balance for each of the past four years.

A couple hours after the board's vote, Blunt traveled to St. Louis to announce Sullivan's appointment to the transitional school board. The three-member board is to also consist of appointees from St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and the city's Board of Aldermen. The governor's appointee is to serve as the chief executive and must be approved by the Missouri Senate.

Sullivan, 54, of St. Louis is chairman of McBride and Son Management Co. Inc. He is also founder of the Read, Write and Run program that promotes reading and wellness among children.

Sullivan said his first priority will be to listen to concerns from students, teachers and everyone else affiliated with the district.

Blunt said he was sensitive to the concerns of the students who protested and expressed concern over the takeover.

"I know change is hard, but I think change is necessary," he said.

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Associated Press Writer Betsy Taylor contributed to this report.