JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Gov. Phil Bryant is approving a takeover of a rural Mississippi school district by the state Department of Education.

Bryant signed an executive order Wednesday abolishing the Noxubee (NOKS’-uh-bee) County school district and putting the state in charge.

The move means an interim superintendent named by the state Board of Education will run the 1,600-student district without a local school board until the state hands back control.

State Board of Education members voted last week to ask Bryant to declare the state of emergency. The move came after the district asked for an emergency loan. The Noxubee district later withdrew that request, but by then a state audit had found numerous violations of state rules. State school board members also say they don’t believe the district can manage financial problems.