If you live in Adams County, the Natchez-Adams School District should be important to you.

In addition to being among the top employers in the area, the district is also among the largest recipients of county tax dollars, too, and it’s the largest single generator of our future population.

Were it a business, it would easily be among the largest in the region, but it’s also a business that is in need of some serious financial reorganization.

District officials gave the public a warning of how bad the financial situation was in December by publicizing that the district had nearly depleted its 16th Section land interest funds.

They district had been using the funds for more than a decade to make up for budget shortfalls.

With those funds nearly gone, the district has been forced to cut its budget for next year.

Superintendent Frederick Hill and others in the school district have already identified approximately $1 million in expense cuts, but nearly that much more still remains to be cut.

Hill has gone on record as saying he believes the school district must live within its means and do everything possible before considering another tax increase.

We agree, and we applaud Hill’s “no-stone-unturned” approach to getting the district’s spending under control.

The district and it’s “product” — educated young men and women — are critically important to our area’s future, but the quality of education doesn’t improve just because money is being thrown at the matter.

We applaud Hill in his approach and wish he and others the best of luck in improving the financial health of the district.