Mayor seeks to avoid school takeover

NEW BEDFORD, MASS. (WPRI) - New Bedford's mayor is seeking to avoid a possible state takeover of the city's school department.

Mayor Jon Mitchell told the school committee Monday that it needed to take action to show the state it is working to avoid a crisis.

The school committee was notified last week that the third draft of its turnaround plan fell short in four of the five areas.

The state is now threatening to take over the school department.

Mayor Mitchell stated the school district needs to accept the reality of the situation and the turnaround plan must be examined more closely.

The district's planning team will work on revising the plan to address state concerns.