(CNN) An Arkansas school board vote against state supervision of public schools may have eased fears of resegregation in the capital city of Little Rock, but a vote to strip the teacher's union of their rights is reigniting a different fight.

The Arkansas Board of Education took a step Thursday toward returning the Little Rock School District to local control, rejecting a controversial idea that struggling schools remain under state supervision while improving schools were run by a local board.

During the meeting, the state education board also stripped the Little Rock teacher's union of their rights, preventing them from bargaining with the district on salaries and other issues.

The votes at the board meeting come after days of protests against the idea of split control of the Little Rock schools, which opponents said would return the city to a "separate but equal" public school system

Board member Chad Pekron proposed the motion to return control to a locally elected school board by 2020.