NATCHEZ — The Natchez-Adams School District approved a plan Tuesday to apply for approximately $400,000 in two separate education grants at the monthly school board meeting.

Yamika Thomas, federal programs supervisor, said the district meets the qualifications to receive approximately $341,000 for fiscal-year 2018 through the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

If the district receives the funding, three schools would receive portions of the ESSA grant: Natchez High School, Susie B. West Elementary School and the Natchez Freshman Academy.

Natchez High School would receive approximately $146,000 for research-based programs. West Elementary would receive approximately $120,000 and the Freshman academy would receive approximately $75,000.

A second grant, from the MDE’s Title V Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP), would give the school district just under $60,000 for professional development and student support services.

REAP funds would be spread across the district at the direction of administrators.

Thomas, who sought board approval Tuesday for the application to receive these grants, said the district has already qualified to receive the funding, she just must go through all the “hoops” to ensure the district receives the funds.

Each grant has a series of qualifications — such as student enrollment, average daily attendance and poverty level in the surrounding area — that determine how much funding, if any, a school district is eligible to receive.

Though the aforementioned $400,000 has already been approved as an allotment for the district, Thomas said the Mississippi Department of Education will occasionally increase its grant allocation based on the application of the district, so “there is a chance that amount could grow.”

After board members voted to approve the Thomas’ application for the grants, Superintendent Fred Butcher asked Thomas for what exactly the district could use the funds.

Alice Morrison, curriculum and instruction director for the district, said she was particularly interested in using the ESSA grants to upgrade computer systems in the district.

“One thing we’re looking at is technology,” Morrison said. “We’d also like to use the funds to apply for a STEM grant for our lower elementary schools.”

The REAP grants will primarily provide employees in the district with professional development training, Thomas said.

Thomas said the grant applications are due in March, and the funding is usually allocated within a month of applying.

“We should see funding from these grants in April,” Thomas said. “Early May, at the latest.”