NATCHEZ — Adams County Board of Supervisors President Mike Lazarus said he has been receiving numerous calls about the county removing Phillip West from the school board.

West was appointed by the supervisors in January 2016 to replace Tim Blalock when Blalock’s term expired that year.

West, a former Natchez mayor, spoke out last week at a school board meeting in which he suggested residents seeking to force a school district matter to a county wide vote had racist motives for doing so.

The meeting erupted into raised voices and threats, before ultimately calling for a recess.  West has filed charges against one resident for allegedly intimidating him.

On Wednesday, the school board voted to borrow $9 million, which would be paid for by a 3-mill, limited tax note. The $9 million would enable the district to make improvements to facilities.

West’s original appointment to the school board was made in a 3-1 vote. District 4 Supervisor Ricky Gray. District 5 Supervisor Calvin Butler and District 3 Supervisor Angela Hutchins voted for West. District 2 Supervisor David Carter voted against it and Lazarus abstained.

The calls to remove West follow a perception in the community the school board is ignoring the will of the community in pursuing its district-wide building program and were furthered by squabbling at last week’s meeting.

In May, the majority of the community voted against the school district’s $35 million bond request to build a new high school and improve other buildings.

Adams County Board of Supervisors’ Attorney Scott Slover said at first blush looking over this issue, supervisors are not able to remove West from the school board during his term. Slover said the statute for removing a school board member would require the person to be convicted of a felony, and a judge would technically remove the board member, not supervisors.

Slover said a statute could exist for dereliction of duty, but he would refer to school board attorney Bruce Kuenhle for comment on that subject. Kuenhle could not be reached for comment.

Even if such a statute could be utilized, West has been present at most — if not all — school board meetings since his term began in March 2016.

Lazarus said supervisors have been down this road with other school board members, most recently with Blalock.

“Once they are on, it is impossible to get them off unless they commit a felony,” Lazarus said. “We have to wait until their term expires.”

Lazarus said supervisors could ask for West to resign, but it would have to be individually.

“I don’t think all supervisors would entertain the idea of asking for his resignation,” Lazarus said. “Even when Mr. West was appointed, it was a split vote.”

Even if supervisors asked West to resign, he would not have to, Lazarus said.

Lazarus said he did not support West at the time he was appointed because of the former mayor’s history of controversy surrounding him.

“I did not think it was a good idea,” Lazarus said. “I did not think he would be a good fit.”

Butler said at the time West was appointed, West was the best candidate.

“Based on the other candidates we had being interviewed, (West) had the best plan to move the district forward,” Butler said.

When West first came onto the school board, he started the process that would ultimately lead to the termination of former Superintendent Frederick Hill. A federal jury sided in favor of a former principal who sued the district and Hill for creating a racially hostile work environment.

Some people have been critical of Butler voting in school board matters, since his wife works for the district. However, Slover said if Butler was not able to vote, then district 5 would not be represented on the school board.

Slover said the ethics laws are gray and broad.

Butler said that many former supervisors have voted for school board members when they had family members working in the district.

Early on, Butler abstained from school issues, but he said he spoke with the state ethics commission and left with the impression that while it was a touchy area, he could ethically vote for a school board member.

Butler said he has chosen to vote to provide representation to his district.

However, Butler said if he could have his way, school board members would be elected by the community, not appointed by supervisors and city aldermen.

“That is my strong feeling,” Butler said. “I feel like the school board should be elected.

“That way they can win or lose at the polls, and it is not just on supervisors to make a judgment call based on interviews.”

Natchez Mayor Darryl Grennell said he would also prefer an elected school board.

“Check my record, every year since 1998 I’ve requested the state Legislature to have an elected school board, when I was on the county board the board unanimously adopted numerous resolutions,” Grennell said. “My rationale has always been: ‘A board that has the power to levy taxes should be elected.’”

During this past legislative session, Grennell said the board of aldermen also unanimously adopted a resolution for an elected school board.

Lazarus said he also supports an elected school board.

“For years and years we have tried to make the school board be an elected position,” Lazarus said. “With the power to raise taxes, they need to be elected.

“We have sent the request to Jackson. Other than that, I don’t know what we can do.”

On behalf of aldermen and the supervisors, Sen. Bob Dearing (D-Natchez) introduced a bill in 2016 for an elected school board.

Dearing said he was told at the time by Sen. Gray Tollison (R-Oxford), who is chair of the senate education committee, that Tollison would put the elected school board bill on the floor in the 2018 legislative session.