Mo. Governor Signs 'Bankruptcy' Bill To Allow State To Force Consolidations

By Peter West

The state of Missouri will have the authority to annex "financially stressed'' school districts to head off bankruptcy and to take steps to transfer students from bankrupt districts into fiscally solvent adjacent ones, under legislation enacted this month.

Under emergency provisions, the measure went into effect immediately upon being signed by Gov. John Ashcroft.

Although the swiftness of the action took some educators by surprise, the measure was seen as a needed response to the increasingly severe fiscal pressures facing many...