A proposed idea to move Head Start students from Thompson School into public school buildings could have two-fold benefits, say Head Start and school district officials.

The plan, which has been discussed for several months, could provide these 3- and 4-year-old preschoolers with a better educational setting while moving them out of a building plagued with physical problems, primarily from continuing roofing problems.

&uot;I could see us coexisting and working together,&uot; said Dr. Carl Davis, superintendent of the Natchez-Adams School District.

For Lamar Braxton, who runs the AJFC Community Action Agency’s Head Start Center at Thompson School, the relationship holds similar appeal.

&uot;I doubt the roof has that much to do with it,&uot; Braxton said, referring to the Thompson roof, whose leaks have left the Head Start program under a provisional health department license until permanent repairs are made. &uot;It’s more about concept.&uot;

The concept involves moving the Head Start’s 4-year-old students, approximately 250 students, to three other campuses: Morgantown School, West Primary School and an as-of-yet unnamed location near Thompson School. Braxton said this could create a neighborhood school-type environment for the Head Start students.

The idea developed through conversation with Joanne Benson, a child development specialist with the Administration for Children and Families, a federal organization which provides grant funding to AJFC.

&uot;She would like to see the center more decentralized,&uot; said Braxton, adding that an ideal Head Start center would house only about 300 students.

Davis said that in his earlier experience of working with Head Start students, the earlier a district can work with the students, the better they do in school.

More important, Davis said the school district wants to work with Head Start particularly if the alternative is the loss of the Head Start program due to an inability to gain permanent health department approval or if the Thompson School building were shut down for repairs.

&uot;Where would (they) put the kids in case something like that was to happen?&uot; Davis said.

Exactly where the children would be housed remains undetermined, as does the legality of the proposed move. Davis said the district would have to maintain ownership of any property used and would want to act as the administrator of any programs on-site at the district’s school. The district also plans to use retired West Primary Principal Kate Cole as a liaison between the district and Head Start.

Both Davis and Braxton said no time frame for resolving the issue exists, although the health department’s restricted license for Head Start to operate at Thompson School expires on June 21. The program had operated under a probational license for a year — due in large part to complications from the ongoing roof leaks. Earlier this month, the health department issued a restricted licenses — which cites more concerns — questioning air quality and ordering tests for asbestos. Although the health department has not received final notification on those tests, Braxton said he believes the Thompson center tested negative for asbestos.