State board orders closure of southeast Oklahoma school

GRANT, Okla. (AP) – The Oklahoma State Board of Education has ordered the closure of the Grant-Goodland School District because of financial problems.

The board voted Thursday in support of a mandatory annexation of the district in Choctaw County in southeastern Oklahoma. The state board says the annexation was needed because of financial misconduct and alleged corruption at the 118-student district.

The prekindergarten through 8th grade district will be annexed into Hugo Public Schools, but the state says students can request to be transferred to a different district if they wish.

The education department says Grant-Goodland officials did not consistently provide financial information to the state. The school district had been designated academically at risk for the past three school years.