NATCHEZ &045; Two fights on school buses last week involving evacuees are moving through the disciplinary process but aren’t out of the ordinary, school officials said.

&uot;We have erratic situations throughout the year,&uot; said Ron Idom, director of the district’s bus services. &uot;I’m not sure I would term this highly unusual. We are going to have tempers flare from time to time.&uot;

Though both incidents involved evacuees, Idom said he didn’t think the new students were going to be a new problem. Local students were also involved.

&uot;It’s probably a coincidence that evacuees were involved,&uot; he said. &uot;There is still a little bit of the us versus them, but they are making progress.

&uot;I feel like the local students are aware of (bus) policies, and (evacuees) may not be yet. Hopefully the message will get out.&uot;

Superintendent Anthony Morris agreed, saying the evacuees are no different from local students.

&uot;The majority of ours are good, and the majority of them are good,&uot; Morris said. &uot;I can’t really say (the fights) are because they are here.&uot;

One of the incidents happened on a city street, St. Catherine Street. Natchez Police were called to the scene and all the students involved were removed from the bus.

The other incident was on a bus parked on school property. A school resource officer and administrators handled the problem.

Idom said all fights are handled according to the school’s discipline ladder. Depending on the seriousness of the offense, students receive bus suspension, a transfer to the alternative school or a visit to youth court.

Last week’s fights involved middle school and high school-aged children.

Morris said no other major incidents had been reported. Principals are responsible for notifying Morris if a problem arises.