The Natchez-Adams School Board took another step toward improving the appearance of Natchez High School Thursday. During its regular board meeting, the board approved a bid to create an entry courtyard at the Seargent S. Prentiss Drive campus.

The courtyard will include visitor parking spaces, a canopy area and the school’s flag pole. The project is the next step in improving the school’s appearance. Last year, the district repainted the school from its original gray color to light and dark green shades.

&uot;(The) place already looks a lot better with the new painting,&uot; said Gerald Horn, director of operations.

Edgin Construction of Natchez, with a $124,000 bid, was selected as the lowest out of five bidders.

This is up slightly from original estimates of $117,370 but officials think it is still manageable.

&uot;The bids were relatively close to what we anticipated,&uot;&160;said Johnny Waycaster of Waycaster and Associates Architects.

The district is cutting some costs by eliminating $11,500 in landscaping from the project.

Winnie Kaiser of the Natchez-Adams County Economic Development Authority is seeking grant funding to make up the difference.

In other business the board:

n And a group of more than 25 West Primary School Teachers recognized Kate Cole as the district’s Administrator of the Year.

The teachers read a letter of recommendation they had written for Cole. Cole will now compete in the state’s administrator of the year competition.

n Discussed setting up a method to track how students at the alternative school perform after they are mainstreamed back into the traditional school environment.