If we learned nothing more from the July 20th Adams County School Board meeting, it’s that we need to move immediately to an elected school board.  The meeting began with the presentation of the 3,000-plus signatures on the petition to put the school board’s intention of borrowing $9 million for unspecified expenses on the ballot in our regularly scheduled November election. Then there was a request for an extension of a few days to get enough signatures, since no one knew if the original days given included weekends.  The board attorney was not present to tell us.  Five people, including myself, spoke briefly about their concerns with the board moving forward on its proposal.  No one was confrontational or accusatory of the board or anyone else. And the board listened closely and with respect.  That is until Phillip West said he wished to make a statement.

That’s when the chaos began. Be sure and watch the video at www.brucetv.com or google Bruce TV. Profanities have been edited out.  Mr. West, in an indignant voice, seemingly accused anyone who signed the petition of being racists. His reasoning was that “91 per cent of the black community voted for it (the May referendum to borrow $35 million for new schools and repairs) and 91 percent of the white community voted against it.

Ninety percent of the kids who go to public school are African-American.”  Therefore, he concluded that our voting was “determined by the racial composition of the students.”  To begin with, where in the world would he get those statistics?  I don’t remember having to state my race when I voted.  He could have at least given us the percentage of the property taxes paid by white and black voters.  That would have been more pertinent to the conversation, since we were addressing a tax issue. Mr. West then accused people who signed the petition of being “racist and un-Christian.”  Much of the crowd took offense at these statements and responded with loud, irate rebuttals.  The meeting quickly devolved into a shouting match, with Mr. West and others having to be restrained.  The room was then cleared of everyone.

Mr. West is still living in the 1960s.  He seems to believe that every issue is a racial issue, and he uses that card whenever he doesn’t get what he wants.  It is time to stop this!  Natchez has come a long way in moving past its racial problems, and we continue to make progress all the time.  The recent election of our African-American mayor by 91 percent of the vote should be proof of this.

Adams County needs an elected School Board to have input from and to involve a cross section of its citizens.  The appointment of Mr. West, who has been the cause of so much divisiveness in Natchez, was a huge mistake and a perfect example of why our board needs to be elected rather than appointed. Let’s get busy getting this accomplished immediately!

If you have not signed the petition to put the board’s request to borrow $9 million on the ballot in November, you can still sign at Ram Rental and other places. We need several hundred more signatures, and we believe we have the extra time now to get them. But we can’t delay!  Thanks to all who supported this effort!
Marcia McCullough is a Natchez resident and taxpayer.