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Governor Bob Wise has signed the order for the state to seize the property of the
McDowell County school system.
The order allows the state to secure $41 million dollars in federal funding to
move ahead with school consolidation, including the use of about $12 million in
state School Board Authority money.
The McDowell County Board of Education voted 3-2 to reject the money, opposing
school consolidation.
Governor Wise, who just took an anti-consolidation stance, says the issue is
safety. He says McDowell County schools have had 264 fire violations from the
state Fire Marshall's office. The governor says it's unacceptable to keep children
in such unsafe conditions.
The state had already taken over the operation of the McDowell School system
because of their failing standards, but 44 other counties have now failed to meet
the No Child Left Behind criteria issued by the Bush administration.
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