Three Natchez aldermen should offer a public apology to members of the Natchez-Adams School Board.

Aldermen Mark Fortenbery, James “Ricky” Gray and Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis effectively threw school board members under a figurative bus Tuesday night with a vote that was juvenile and ill-conceived.

The trio agreed to rescind the appointments of David Troutman, Thelma Newsome and Benny Wright if (and that’s the key word) the city was allowed to do so.

The entire premise, initially proposed by Gray, was that the school board members should be removed since the school board had violated “policies and laws.” Gray alleged that by not reporting an incident to the state board of education, the school board was scoffing the law. School leaders later said flatly, Gray was wrong.

The public mud dragging seems to promote the position that the school board members were guilty until proven innocent.

Public representatives should realize the power they wield and use that power wisely, not foolishly.

Discussing the matter calmly and seeking information from the school board at a later time would have been the wise thing to do.

Learning first what happened, then what the law dictates would have been wise, too.

Instead, the aldermen acted foolishly, taking the shoot-first-ask-questions-later approach to leadership.

Such is beneath the public offices the aldermen hold.