Following an executive session to discuss personnel, USD 408 Board of Education approved a motion to draft an interlocal agreement with other county school districts to disband Marion County Special Education Cooperative.

Special meetings will be held to put the plan in motion with the first one scheduled for noon March 25.

For the disbandment to occur, four of the five school districts in the county would have to approve the agreement.

The special education cooperative had revealed that it was going to have a shortfall of funds this year and next year because of state cutbacks. One option to help stabilize the cooperative’s budget was to increase the amount levied to each school district.

USD 398 Peabody-Burns had already submitted a request to withdraw from the cooperative. The co-op board denyied the request. The school district then submitted its request to the state board of education for a final decision. The decision from the state had not been announced at press time.