COMPTON – Compton Unified School District, which was placed under state receivership because of academic and financial bankruptcy, is regaining full local control after 10 years under an administrator appointed by the California Department of Education.

Test scores have improved dramatically, school facilities have improved and the district has built its first new school in more than 30 years and rid itself of debt, the state said yesterday.

The state took over the district in 1993, when Compton, a black and Hispanic community south of Los Angeles, was mired in deep troubles: poverty, gang violence, one of the state's highest crime rates, and political corruption scandals.

The state also gave the school district a $20 million loan.

The decision by state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell to return local control was effective immediately.

"Since the state first became involved in 1993, Compton Unified has put its fiscal house in order and, most importantly, is well on its way to turning the district school around when it comes to academics," O'Connell said in a statement.

In December 2001, the Department of Education gave most control back to district officials but the state-appointed administrator, Randolph E. Ward, continued in an oversight role with authority to overrule the local board on fiscal matters.

Ward will become administrator of the struggling Oakland Unified School District.

Also yesterday, Gov. Gray Davis signed an emergency $100 million loan for the Oakland district. The loan will relieve the school district of its debt, estimated at more than $70 million, by the end of this school year.

The loan will be repaid, with interest, over 20 years.

In Compton, O'Connell met with district officials, the state trustee, staff, teachers and students last month during a visit that included a stop at the new $16 million William Jefferson Clinton Elementary School, which was dedicated in March.

The 39-school district has 32,000 students, nearly all at the federal poverty level, according to the Department of Education.

The department said the district's schools are well-maintained and campuses have seen a 66 percent reduction in property crime alone.

The state also said:

In 2002, 84 percent of Compton schools improved on their Academic Performance Index and 62 percent met their API growth target.

The average class size has decreased by 12 percent since 1998.

The percentage of black males graduating from Compton high schools with courses required by the University of California and California State University is above the state average.

The department also noted that Compton Unified paid off its debt to the state in June 2001.