NATCHEZ — The Adams County Board of Supervisors added two names to the nominations for possible appointees to the Natchez-Adams School District’s Board of Trustees.

The appointee will replace board member Ruth Nichols, who resigned earlier this month.

The nominations include Jim Franklin, by Supervisor David Carter; Amos James and Diane Good, by Supervisor Angela Hutchins; and Cynthia Smith, by Supervisor Mike Lazarus.

Franklin is a retired educator with 50 years experience in the classroom, and Good works at a local bank and is a community volunteer. Smith is a long-time educator, and James has been an outspoken voice in the community about the school system in recent months.

Smith is also the mother of Shannon Doughty, a former Natchez High School administrator who made an emotional plea to the supervisors earlier this week that they stay engaged as much as they can with the school system.

Lazarus said he would like to revisit a discussion had earlier this week about having the interviews for school board in view of the public, an idea Carter put forward.

Lazarus said he did not think having the interviews be public would lead to candor from those being interviewed, and would likewise prohibit the supervisors’ ability to speak freely about their thoughts on each candidate.

“It is hard enough to appoint someone after a 15-minute interview,” he said. “I am not sure I am up on interviewing these people in open session.”

Supervisors President Darryl Grennell said the board can determine how the interviews will be conducted at the time they take place. The board did not set a date for the interviews Friday.

Members of the school district’s board of trustees have come under increasing scrutiny in recent months as members of the community have questioned the effectiveness of the district’s administration and its personnel choices.

The Natchez Board of Aldermen voted this week to seek to remove the city’s three appointees to the board if it was legally feasible, but the move was stymied by the city attorney’s finding that the board had no basis to remove its appointees.

Supervisor Calvin Butler abstained from the discussion because his wife is an employee of the school district. Butler said the state ethics commission had advised him to do so.

The board also voted to hire a new veteran’s service officer for the county, Sonangela Johnson.

Grennell said Johnson will start Aug. 8.

Johnson will replace Joe Belling Sr., who was hired in June, because Belling did not meet all of the certification requirements necessary to hold the job, Grennell said.

The replacement is not based on a performance issue and Belling did not misrepresent himself during interviews, Grennell said.

When Belling was hired for the position, the state office tasked with certifying candidates for the position had cleared his resume, but later reviewed it and said it did not meet the qualifications for certification, Grennell said.

“This was an oversight on the state office’s part and not on the board’s part,” he said.