NATCHEZ &045; A consultant guiding the Natchez-Adams School Board’s search for a superintendent will call semifinalists today to set up interviews with the board.

Consultants Dr. E.E. Caston and Cass Pennington received 15 applications for the position &045; &uot;in-state, out-of-state, black, white, male, female, Š a good mix of candidates, very diverse,&uot; Caston said Thursday.

Former Assistant Superintendent Mary Kate Garvin has served as the district’s interim leader since Dr. Carl Davis left in June and accepted a job with a school district in the Atlanta area. Caston has said that interviews for the post could start later this month.

In an executive session held at the end of Thursday’s School Board meeting, the consultants and the board reviewed the applications and were set to choose semifinalists, although an exact number was not available late Thursday.

&uot;This (session with the consultants) is a very important workshop for this board and for the future of this district,&uot; said board President Dr. Norris Edney.

Caston said earlier Thursday that he would call the semifinalists today to set up School Board interviews as soon as possible. Interviewees must agree to have their names made public, since part of those interviews will be public anyway, Caston said.

Part of each interview will be open to the media and a &uot;representative group&uot; of citizens so board members can see how each candidate interacts with members of the community, Caston has said.

Also during the meeting, the board voted to:

4Contract with Hookitup Consulting and Entertainment at a cost of $4,000 for a health fair presentation and with Smarty Pants Consulting and Entertainment at a cost of $250 for character education programs.

Atlanta-based Hookitup provides school assemblies, and Smarty Pants provides art-based programs, that address issues such as character education and prevention of violence and drug abuse.

4Contract with consultant Renee Akbar of New Orleans at a cost of $350 per day to provide science training for teachers of kindergarten through eighth grade.

The seminars will focus on teaching strategies and techniques &045; especially important, district staff said, because mandatory state science testing will start in the next school year.

4Contract with Mark LaFrancis at a cost of $160 for publishing software training for the district’s public relations secretary.

4Table consideration of a motion to contract with an engineering firm that could estimate how much it will cost to repair the drainage system at Natchez High’s football stadium.

Local firm Jordan, Kaiser & Sessions has estimated that it will take $1,000 to $2,000 just to look at the system and make recommendations on repairs.

Repairs are needed because sinkholes have developed over the drainage system, which is more than 40 years old, said Dr. Harold Barnett, director of safety, security and student activities.

Edney, however, said he did not feel comfortable asking the board to approve the request without having a more specific estimate of the cost.