A judge has ruled the Davenport School Board’s final vote to close two elementary schools -was- handled properly. At the school administration’s request, board members voted in January to close the schools to save a couple million dollars. The school system faces a $2.7 million shortfall due to declining enrollment and state funding cuts. Parents appealed the decision to the Department of Education, saying state-mandated school-closing rules were not followed. In March, the school district started the closing process all over again. And the board voted a second time, in April, to close the schools. The parents appealed to the state again. On Monday, Susan Anderson, an administrative law judge for the Iowa Board of Education, ruled for the school board.
