Massachusetts Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester is taking over the Southbridge public schools. The move comes after the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on Tuesday endorsed his recommendation to place the troubled district under state receivership.

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The Board’s 9-to-0 vote, with one abstention, came after hearing from Southbridge residents and officials Monday evening.

Esteban Carrasco, Jr., chair of the Southbridge Town Council, says he hopes the decision will finally restore order to a school district that has had a high turnover of administrators, including seven superintendents since 2010.

“We’ve had five different building principals at the middle high school. We’ve had five different business managers. And we can’t afford to continue the instability for our children,” Carrasco says. “Kids do not get a do over, especially at a very young age.”

The Worcester County town becomes the third Massachusetts community, after Holyoke and Lawrence, to have their schools taken over by the state.

Commissioner Chester says he’s looking to appoint a receiver within the next month. He says he will also convene a group of local stakeholders within the next six to seven weeks to help enact a turn around plan for the district.

“My goal is not simply to stabilize the district and get out as quickly as we can, but to actually turn that district around so that strong academic performance is no longer the exception but now becomes the rule,” Chester says.

Chester says he plans to be in Southbridge on Friday to meet with local teachers.