NATCHEZ — Citizens have a chance at 6 p.m. today to be a part of the public schools’ new legacy of leadership.

A superintendent has potential to influence the attitude of everyone in the district, said Teresa Busby, the vice president of Copiah-Lincoln Community College and president of the Natchez-Adams Chamber of Commerce Education Committee.

“It can be quite a force to have a strong leader to get people excited again about being educators,” Busby said

Busby said a leader with a positive attitude has the ability to trickle down his or her energy to administrators, teachers and support staff.

“If the superintendent takes pride in job well done, teachers will and will in turn instill it in children,” she said.

Natchez Inc. Executive Director Chandler Russ said even those who do not have children in public schools have a vested interest in the district’s next leader.

“The majority of the labor force is coming out of the public schools,” Russ said. “So most businesses as well as concerned citizens should (care), whether (someone has) kids in the system or not.”

A consultant from the Mississippi School Board Association, which the district hired to conduct the search, will host the stakeholders meeting and report the findings to the board for their consideration.

No school board members will be present in order to stay on topic about qualities the public wants to see in a new superintendent.

Natchez Chamber of Commerce President Debbie Hudson said even those without particularly strong opinions concerning qualities of the next superintendent should attend to be part of the process.

“If you want something to change you have to be a part of it, you can’t just criticize,” Hudson said.

“If we’re going to look to the future and what we want, we need to have some input.”

Natchez-Adams School Board President Wayne Barnett said the meeting will allow those who participated to feel like they have some buy-in with the new direction of the district’s leadership.

While school board members are appointed, Barnett said today’s public hearing at the Braden Administrative building could be compared to the voting precinct.

“If you don’t go vote you can’t complain,” he said. “If you don’t come to this hearing and don’t voice your opinion about what you would like to see in superintendent, you can’t complain about who is selected,” Barnett said.

MSBA is also hosting a stakeholders meeting Tuesday afternoon for school administrators and a meeting for any teachers and staff who would like to provide input.

MSBA Executive Director Michael Waldrop said the superintendent searches last an average of two or three months from the time the position is advertised to the time it is filled.