In a hastily called meeting with no one but themselves in attendance, the Adams County Board of Supervisors agreed Friday morning to give Thompson School to the Head Start program.

At least two of the five supervisors were surprised by the board’s action and one has vowed to take the &uot;illegal&uot; matter to court.

Friday’s 3-1 vote, called an &uot;insult&uot; by one supervisor, comes just two weeks after the board voted 3-2 to give Head Start provider AJFC Community Action Agency a 50-year lease of the property.

The lease allowed the agency to receive funding for building maintenance.

Darryl Grennell, the supervisor of District 4 in which Thompson School is located, said he could not attend the meeting because he had to teach a class at Alcorn State University.

He did not know the meeting, which was called presumably to discuss an &uot;emergency&uot; situation with a roof leak at the county jail, would be taking place until late Thursday afternoon.

Grennell, who has long supported maintaining the school as county property, said he heard about the board’s vote on Thompson only after calling another supervisor.

&uot;When they told me Thompson, it took me off my feet,&uot; he said. &uot;It’s in my district — that’s an insult to me.&uot;

Thompson School was a black school prior to integration.

&uot;The African-American community is going to be upset about it,&uot; Grennell said. &uot;This is a slap in the black community’s face.&uot;

Grennell said he thinks the board should have, at the least, not discussed the issue until a later meeting when he was present.

&uot;That type of issue could have waited (until) the first Monday of next month,&uot; he said.

But Supervisor Sammy Cauthen said the county is on the unit system, which allows the board to discuss issues that occur in any district — even if that respective supervisor is not present.

Cauthen does not support Grennell’s claim that the board should have worked the vote around Grennell’s class schedule.

&uot;He needs to make his mind up whether he wants to be a schoolmarm or an Adams County supervisor,&uot; Cauthen said.

In the past, the board has made special arrangements to work meetings around Grennell’s class schedule.

&uot;It’s not my job to satisfy him,&uot; Cauthen said. &uot;It’s my job to satisfy the people who elected me.&uot;

Supervisors Cauthen, Virginia&160;Salmon and Lynwood Easterling voted to give the building to AJFC, while Supervisor Thomas &uot;Boo&uot; Campbell voted against the action, in favor of the lease agreement.

Easterling’s vote turned the tide on the issue.

At an earlier meeting this month, Easterling voted with Grennell and Campbell to give the 50-year lease while Salmon and Cauthen voted against the lease in favor of giving the school to AJFC.

Easterling said he changed his vote for liability reasons.

&uot;I was made aware under a long-term lease, the county could still be liable for the building, and I did not know that,&uot; he said.

Easterling said he favored giving the building to AJFC as long as the building’s gym and auditorium would remain open for county recreation and programs for Thompson alumni.

Easterling said if AJFC ever decides to sell Thompson, he wants the alumni to have a chance to buy the building.

&uot;That’s still my concern right now, if there’s a way that alumni could use the building,&uot; Easterling said.

But because of the hasty way in which the board called the meeting, Grennell said he was not given sufficient notice. He wants to take the matter to court and have the meeting declared void.

&uot;What they did here today was illegal. The meeting was illegal today,&uot; Grennell said.

Campbell is also not sure if the board was able to discuss issues like Thompson at the meeting.

&uot;I’m not sure that (voting on Thompson) was legal,&uot; Campbell said. &uot;We should not have discussed that today.&uot;

Campbell said he thought the board should only have discussed the jail roof at the meeting.

Cauthen said that at the end of board’s regular meeting Monday, the board decided to recess instead of adjourn and meet again this week once cost estimates were available for the jail roof repair.

The board discussed the jail roof at Friday’s meeting, but Cauthen said he thinks the supervisors were also permitted to discuss other matters.

&uot;When you meet, you can discuss anything, as far as county business is concerned,&uot; he said.

Cauthen has long been in favor of giving Thompson to AJFC, because he said it is expensive to maintain. The county has spent thousands of dollars in recent years on repairs to the school.

Cauthen said Thompson School was first mentioned in Friday’s meeting by board attorney Marion Smith.

The attorney had questions about drawing up the 50-year lease for the school.

Cauthen is also concerned about the liability that goes along with a lease agreement.

&uot;(Smith) didn’t believe any lease would hold us not responsible in case a child got hurt out there or whatever,&uot; Cauthen said.

Smith and Board President Virginia Salmon were not available for comment Friday.

Grennell said the board’s action upset him greatly.

&uot;I feel like shedding a tear,&uot; he said.

Kevin Cooper and Kerry Whipple contributed to this report.