Alabama's third-largest public school system is facing a state takeover.
Montgomery School Board Vice President Lesa Keith tells the Montgomery Advertiser that officials there have been told the state is taking control of the system. She says no details will be provided until after state superintendent Michael Sentance meets with local leaders.
State officials aren't commenting, but Sentance is scheduled to meet with the Montgomery County Board of Education, Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange, and the state board of education in the next week.
The potential takeover of the 31,000-student system is prompted by poor performance. The number of failing schools in the system more than doubled to 23 in 2015.
Report cards issued by the state last month show only 13 of 50 Montgomery public schools had more than half their students exhibiting proficiency in both math and reading. The vast majority of those schools were magnet programs.