LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Arkansas Board of Education voted Wednesday to take control of Little Rock schools less than six months after a federal judge granted more independence to the historically embattled district and ended a quarter-century of payments to boost integration.
The state last year classified six of the district’s 48 schools as being in academic distress after fewer than half of the students attending them scored at proficient levels on achievement tests. About 45 percent of high school students in the district are at campuses designated as underperforming. The Little Rock School District is the state’s largest with nearly 25,000 students.
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“It’s a dark past in our state but we’re so far past that,” Ledbetter said after the meeting. “It’s a diverse board and no vote in this board has taken place along racial lines.”
