Mo. court upholds takeover of St. Louis schools

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Missouri Supreme Court upholds the state takeover of the St. Louis School District.

The decision Tuesday backs the appointment of a three-member governing board that has run Missouri's largest school district since it lost accreditation in June 2007. Members of the elected school board have remained in office since then but are largely powerless.

Elected St. Louis board members had urged the Supreme Court to invalidate the Missouri Board of Education decision removing the district's accreditation. They also sought to strike down the state law allowing the transfer of powers to an appointed board if the St. Louis district lost accreditation.

The Supreme Court rejected all the arguments raised by the elected board members.

The appointed board is to continue overseeing the district until mid-2011.