Kansas City schools will not be run by the state this year

• Twitter: jqhile
• School board member Jon Hile’s reaction to the news.

The ball is back in Kansas City’s court after the Missouri Legislature failed to pass a bill on Friday, the last day of the legislative session, that would have granted immediate control over the city’s schools to a state-appointed board.

Despite support in both chambers, the bill stalled in the House as Republican lawmakers sought to push through a second bill that would have tied teacher tenure to performance rather than years on the job. When the tenure bill was pulled from the floor in the Senate, the state takeover bill died along with it. As it stands now, the state could assume control over Kansas City public schools in January 2014 – two years after the loss of the district’s accreditation.