JACKSON (AP) — Mississippi’s second-largest school district remains on a path to be taken over by the state.

The state School Accreditation Commission voted Wednesday that the state Board of Education and Gov. Phil Bryant should declare an emergency in the 27,000-student Jackson district. The Board of Education is scheduled to take the issue up today.

The 11-1 vote came after an hours-long hearing when state Department of Education officials told commission members that the district had key failings. Among allegations are that the district is letting seniors graduate without showing they met requirements, that teachers are providing ineffective instruction and that schools are unsafe.

Interim Superintendent Freddrick Murray argues some state allegations are false and others have been addressed. He and others argue Jackson should get more time to complete remaining fixes.