NATCHEZ — Since he couldn’t find an olive branch, he brought a rose instead.

Dr. Benny Wright presented the flower to Norris Edney, President of the Natchez-Adams School Board, as an offering of peace at Thursday’s board meeting.

Wright’s meeting with the board was his was his first since his appointment to the board at the end of October.

In past months, Wright and others had called for current district Superintendent Anthony Morris to resign from his post.

Before taking office, Wright said he wanted to retract his previous comments and make amends with the board.

And his presentation of the rose was part of that reconciliation.

After being sworn in, Wright said he would do everything within the confines of the law, and his morals, to benefit the district’s students.

And with that, Wright’s first meeting began.

In recent weeks, students in the Robert Lewis Middle School Orchestra were attempting to raise money to secure their spot at an upcoming orchestra festival in Atlanta.

The orchestra was in danger of not having enough money to make their deposit, and on Thursday the board discussed a proposal from the orchestra’s director asking the board to pay for a substantial portion of the trip.

Morris proposed the board allocate $5,000 of the approximate $9,000 requested, and let the orchestra come up with the remainder.

Wright disagreed, saying the district should pay the full amount requested to afford students the best possible opportunity.

Morris and other board members said they believed the students, through fundraising, should first attempt to earn the money.

“They need to work for some of it as well,” Morris said.

The board, with the exception of Wright, voted to allocate the funding.

After the meeting Wright said he did not want to vote against funding, but was voting against Morris’ proposal not to allocate the full amount.

“They need every opportunity we can afford them,” he said. “They need every opportunity for this type of exposure.”

In other news, the board moved one step closer to securing employment for crossing guards at Morgantown Elementary.

On Thursday the board adopted a resolution to enter an agreement with the Adams County Board of Supervisors that would allow the supervisors to keep the crossing guards as employees but have the district fund their salaries.

The supervisors eliminated the crossing guards from their budget months ago in an effort to save money.

However, they did not know the district was not legally able to rehire them.

Board Attorney Bruce Kuehnle said now that the district and supervisors have agreed on how to correct the situation, the attorney general must approve the decision.

Kuehnle said given the basic nature of the agreement, the attorney general’s opinion should be prompt.