By Associated Press
Huntsville, AL – Huntsville City Schools officials have received permission from the U.S. Department of Justice to consolidate 10 schools in an effort to cut costs.
The city's schools operate under a long-standing federal desegregation order and must clear major construction or zoning decisions with the Justice Department.
Superintendent Ann Roy Moore already had the school board's permission to merge two elementary schools and can now urge the board to approve the other eight schools for merger.
Moore said savings are had whenever schools are merged and she will push for as many consolidations as the board will allow.
Alabama schools have been squeezed by the slow economy. For the second straight month, the state paid school systems only part of their monthly allotment for payroll on time.