The quote that was attributed to me as stated in an Aug. 10 headline was said of some principals not the school board. It was our plea to principals to treat the citizens and students with respect because too many parents and others have complained that they are not treated with respect at some schools. The recourse for them should be board reassignment or removal.

We hear the people, (most of them are good people who are seeking to help their children get an education) hopefully the board will too.

The perception of the school board in the community is that it doesn’t listen to the community’s concerns, and that there is a fear factor within the system that they have refused to address.

The committee representing the community went before the board with the concerns and were presented with a large stack of materials to read during the meeting as answers to the questions. Had we been given the packet prior to the meeting they could have been studied and follow-up questions could have been asked during our 10 minutes of allotted time. Dr. Norris Edney has agreed to meet with the community in September. Maybe then these questions and others will be addressed.

We promise that we will do all we can to make sure that anything our committee does will be done with order and decency. We encourage anyone who has a concern to request to be placed on the board’s agenda. This should be done 10 days prior to the meeting with your concerns listed.

Georgia C. Oliver

Committee for better public schools in Natchez