NASD hosting town hall meeting

Published 2:04 am Sunday, October 25, 2015

NATCHEZ — The Natchez-Adams School District is hosting a town hall meeting Thursday­ at Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church.

NASD Public Relations Coordinator Steven Richardson said Superintendent Frederick Hill will give a presentation covering initiatives in the district. Possible topics include third-grade reading test preparation and increasing the district’s graduation rate, as well as other NASD initiatives and accomplishments.

“We probably won’t be able to go in depth with everything, but we will try to discuss as much as possible,” Richardson said.

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Richardson said Hill met with community members at the beginning of the school year to discuss concerns and feedback they had about the district. The talking points from those meetings were included in the planning for Thursday’s meeting.

Richardson said Hill’s address will take approximately 30 minutes, and the rest of the time will be used for questions.

Attendees will be able to ask questions throughout the meeting by writing them down on provided cards and turning them in. Richardson said NASD would try to get through as many questions as possible.

If an attendee’s question is not answered at the meeting, Richardson said they can follow up using other channels, such as the P-16 Council, board meetings or by calling Hill’s office to schedule a time to discuss the issue.

“The town hall is not the last opportunity to provide feedback for our district, and we are always looking for feedback,” Richardson said.

Questions about personnel matters will be off-limits, though. Richardson said personnel matters include questions about a named person, questions describing the person or scenario that identifies the employee, as well as hiring or firing of current and former employees.

Personnel files and infractions an employee incurred are also off-limits.

“That is truly private unless the authorities are involved,” Richardson said.

Questions pertaining to personnel policies, such as hiring policies and policies which would lead to termination, however, are allowed since they’re part of the public record.

Richardson encourages residents to attend and to ask questions.

“Come and be active in it,” Richardson said. “Be ready to ask questions because you won’t know unless you ask.”

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church is located at 117 Pilgrim Blvd. in Natchez.