Our area had a pretty poor showing during the 2018 Mississippi Legislature, meaning relatively few of the area’s legislative goals were passed.

Among the most discussed and debated was the effort to legally change the system by which Natchez-Adams School Board trustees are chosen.

Currently school board members are appointed — three by the Natchez Board of Aldermen and two by the Adams County Supervisors.

Both city and county appointing boards went on record as supporting the move this year, and the bill sailed easily through the state Senate.

The matter appeared a shoo-in, until the bill died unexpectedly in a House committee. The chair of that committee would not bring the issue up for a vote to move it out of committee and potentially on to the full House.

Sources close to the matter said someone in Natchez got to the committee chairman and convinced the man, Rep. Richard Bennett, to let the bill die. Bennett will not comment on the matter, but several people have said at least one sitting Natchez-Adams School Board member called Bennett.

Exactly what the alleged caller may have told Bennett to sway him is unknown.

Regardless, the move reeks of selfish, political motives. Rather than thinking about what’s best for our children, the focus was on retaining power.

Natchez’s elected leaders have vowed to lobby again for the move in next year’s legislative session and plan to begin their lobbying efforts early. That’s a good start in a much-needed effort to actually put the power to decide who leads the school district and who can levy taxes in the hands of citizens.