NATCHEZ &045; The first community committee meeting of the Natchez-Adams School District was more about good news than bad.

The committee, a group that met last year under a different name, is composed of school administrators from the public and private schools, Department of Human Service representatives, Youth Court and Families First leaders and the Natchez police chief and Adams County sheriff.

The group will meet two more times this school year and is designed to improve the schools and the area for the children.

&uot;With all the agencies we want to be sure that we work properly with them,&uot; Superintendent Anthony Morris said.

The committee discussed and praised everything from homecoming celebrations to drug prevention programs.

Central Alternative School and Natchez High School have been part of the Natchez-Adams County Health Coalition Network’s juvenile awareness program, which brings inmates into the schools to talk about drug use.

The administrators who have heard the program spoke highly of it, provoking the committee to express interest in bringing a similar type program to the elementary schools. The inmates will visit Robert Lewis Middle School later in the year.

Morris agreed to look into some type of drug program at Morgantown and McLaurin.

Police Chief Mike Mullins also offered to have his agents bring the drug dogs to the schools for classroom visits.

Other good news included the reinstatement of the GED program at Families First and the opening of a Boys and Girls Club at Morgantown and McLaurin.

The committee also discussed the high number of truant students in the district and ways to better enforce truancy rules. Mullins said the city does have a curfew order for children under 16.

Students caught skipping school are taken back to school two times as a warning. On the third offense the police department is allowed to write an affidavit against the parents.

Youth Court Judge John Hudson raised the question of having teachers come to the Juvenile Detention Center for classes, instead of transporting the children to the schools.

&uot;It would be so much better for us if they did get education in detention,&uot; he said.

Morris said the funding for the teachers was something the district did not have at this point.