ST. LOUIS SCHOOLS

On March 22, the State Board of Education voted 5-1 to strip the St. Louis Public Schools of its accreditation. As a result a three-member transitional school board will take over the district on June 15. The elected St. Louis Board of Education will remain in place but have no authority. A student protest temporarily delayed the board’s action. According to the AP, about three minutes into the meeting dozens of students began chanting “no takeovers.” The board then adjourned, as it warned it would do in the event of disruptions. The meeting resumed a short time later. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Blunt is expected to name Rick Sullivan, an executive with the St. Louis-area homebuilding firm McBride and Sons, to lead the transitional school board. St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and Aldermanic President Jim Shrewsbury will each name a member to fill out the board.