State board returns St. Louis schools to local control

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis public schools will be returned to local control effective July 1.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Missouri Board of Education on Tuesday voted to end 12 years of state control. St. Louis Public Schools have been governed by a three-member special administrative board since the district lost accreditation in 2007 due to poor financial and academic performance.

The district regained full accreditation in 2017 after improvements to graduation rates, finances and other measures.

The seven-member elected school board will take over governing the district in July.

Since 2007, the high school graduation rate has risen to 78 percent from 56 percent, and out-of-school suspensions have dropped markedly. But during that same period, enrollment fell from 33,000 students in 2007 to fewer than 21,000.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com