While the Natchez Board of Aldermen and the Adams County Board of Supervisors may have reached a consensus in favor of an elected school board, they are divided on whether such a task can be accomplished without the approval of the Legislature.

Several members of both boards have said the city and county can sign an inter-local agreement and change the Natchez-Adams School Board from an appointed body to one that is elected. But, others are unsure the switch is possible without Legislative approval.

Both the city and county have made several attempts to have the Legislature approve such a switch, but all resolutions, and even a lawsuit, have failed.

Adams County Board of Supervisors President Virginia Salmon is not sold on the possibility of an alternative.

&uot;We did pretty intensive investigating before we sent the last resolution to Jackson,&uot; Salmon said.

At that time, Salmon said someone in the Attorney General’s office told her it would be almost impossible to change the way the school board was set up. &uot;It’s like a birthmark on a child,&uot; Salmon said she remembers being told. &uot;Something you just have to live with.&uot;

The city and county chose the current setup in the 1950s. Prior to then, city and county districts operated separately.

&uot;What Bubber West knows about, I don’t know about,&uot; Salmon said. In a meeting Tuesday, Ward 4 Alderman Theodore &uot;Bubber&uot; West called for a vote of the board of aldermen to put its position concerning an elected school board &uot;on record.&uot;

Ward 3 Alderwoman Sue Stedman cast the only &uot;nay&uot; vote. Stedman said she does not believe an elected school board would be as efficient as an appointed board, and politics would interfere with decision-making.

The board of aldermen also voted to begin negotiations with the Adams County Board of Supervisors in an effort to reach a consensus on the issue and begin drawing up an inter-local agreement.

If both boards are in favor of an elected school board, both Ward 4 Alderman David Massey and West said they can sign an inter-local agreement, changing the way the school board is structured.

&uot;If both boards agree and sign off on it, we’ll have an elected school board,&uot; Massey said Tuesday.

State Rep. Phillip West also said the switch can be done through an inter-local agreement. &uot;It can be done. It should be done, and it’s long overdue,&uot; he said.

Rep. West said members of both boards have been aware of the possibility of an elected school board through an inter-local agreement since the late 1980s, but politics prevented any action.

In the process of requesting an opinion from the Attorney General’s office, West said he, the city and county learned there could be a way to switch to an elected school board through an inter-local agreement, but it was not until last year he learned it was already possible to do so under existing statutes.

Although the membership and leadership of both boards has changed since then, Rep. West said the idea never totally went away.

&uot;There were probably some people on the city and county (boards) who knew it and kept it to themselves,&uot; Rep. West said.

Natchez City Attorney Walter Brown said he is currently researching state education statutes and opinions, because he is not convinced the school board structure can change without Legislative approval.

&uot;I’m not sure it can be done, but I’m working with the Attorney General’s office to get an opinion,&uot; Brown said.

Brown said the issue is complex, due to the number of ways a school board can be structured under the Mississippi State Code. Natchez and Adams County operate as a special municipal district, with five appointed school board trustees.

Three are chosen by the board of aldermen and two by the board of supervisors.

Adams County resident Charles Sanders whose 1998 lawsuit against the school board, city and county governments was unsuccessful; said he hopes an inter-local agreement can secure an elected school board.

Sanders said he is waiting to see what happens with the inter-local agreement before deciding to appeal his case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Emily Whitten contributed to this report.