Recent stories in The Natchez Democrat regarding the school bond issue and its rejection by voters, and the school board’s subsequent decision to seek a loan for millions of dollars as a back-channel way to subvert that vote, raise serious issues about integrity. The school board doesn’t seem to understand how democracy works: all public officials and bodies “deriv[e] their just powers from the consent of the governed.” In this case, the “governed” explicitly denied consent for these expenditures.

As a long-time supporter of the public school system, I sympathize with our schools’ needs for decent facilities. Money should be allocated for the repair and proper maintenance of schools. However, the assertions that a new high school is needed are highly suspect. The question arises: does the student population warrant such an expansion? Are there so many students being added that a new building is needed? Instead, I suspect that the number of students is (like Natchez’ general population, 15-percent decrease from 2000 to 2010) falling.

Those members of the school board who voted in favor of this back-channel loan and underhanded shill game thereby flouted outrageously the will of the voters. They should lose their positions on the board, either by recall or other means. Their action supersedes the issue of whether or not, or how much, money is needed for school construction or remodeling. Rather, the paramount issue now is the shockingly tyrannical behavior of school board members who have shown a highly offensive disrespect for the public will.
Don Simonton

Natchez resident