NATCHEZ  — The two educational groups who expressed interest in opening a charter school in Natchez did not submit a full application and won’t proceed in the application process.

Mississippi’s Charter School Authorizer Board says groups have submitted six eligible applications to open schools in the current cycle.

Applicants had submitted letters of intent to apply for 17 schools, but a majority did not submit full applications.

Included in those groups were the Phoenix Project Community Development Foundation and Academy of Arts and Sciences Mississippi who both applied earlier this year to open schools in Natchez. The state’s charter school authorizer board eventually turned down the Phoenix group in the final stages of the application process, while the AASM group didn’t make it far in the process.

Volly Davis, the board president of Phoenix, said his group didn’t apply this time around because it wanted to make sure it could fully address changes in the application process and was hoping start-up money might become available. He said Phoenix intends to apply again later.

“Oh no, we’re not giving up,” Davis said. “We’re just looking at addressing all the issues that they changed up this time.”

Board Chairman Tommie Cardin of Clinton noted that six applicants had been declared eligible this time compared to three last time. He said he hoped potential applicants were becoming more familiar with the process.

“We’ve got some quality applicants in this round, just as we had in the last round,” Cardin said.

The board plans to examine applications over the next month to make sure they all meet minimum requirements for financial, academic and support-service plans before moving to a more intensive interview and evaluation stage, with plans to vote on approvals in December.

Earlier this year the board approved Mississippi’s first charter school. Reimagine Prep in Jackson, serving grades 5-8, plans a fall 2015 opening.

Last year’s other rejected finalist, Inspire Charter School in Columbus, did apply again.

Another two applicants want to open schools in Jackson and two in Tunica County. One wants to open in the North Panola School District.

An application by Community Charter Center for Excellence to open schools in Amite County and Jackson was rejected as ineligible because the group did not submit a letter from IRS declaring it to be a tax-exempt charity. State law requires the group show such status.