By Adam Allington, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – Members of the St. Louis School Board took turns pointing fingers during a meeting Tuesday night.
The board currently finds itself grappling with a a host of problems, not least among them the possibility of losing academic accreditation because of failure to pass a state performance review.
Board member Peter Downs feels that rather than revoke the district's status, the state should keep it"provisionally" accreditated.
"I'm optimistic they will," Downs noted. "If they didn't I think there are 10 other school districts they would have to penalize the same way. We are making more progress then some of those districts so I don't think they are prepared to do that.
The state's education department will decide what status to grant the school district at a meeting scheduled for January 15th.
Many feel that revoking accreditation would be the first step toward a state takeover of the city's public schools.
Another elephants in the room Tuesday night were the findings of state commission that says the district is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.
District superintendent Diana Bourisaw says there are no quick fixes for the districts problems. "We are moving this district in the right direction," she said. "We can't undo what's been done in the past five years in four months. We need a little more time."