Federal judge refuses to block shutdown of North Forest (Texas) district

North Forest (Texas) school officials have lost another court case, making the district’s state-ordered merger into the Houston school system on July 1 increasingly likely. The Houston Chronicle says U.S. District Judge David Hittner rejected arguments the takeover of North Forest by the Houston Independent School District would violate the rights of minority voters. In his order, the judge said that granting a temporary restraining order to halt the annexation was not in the best interest of students. Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams ordered North Forest shut down as of July 1 after decades of academic struggles and financial problems.