NATCHEZ — Natchez-Adams School District board member Reneé Wall announced Monday that she plans to resign from the board in May.

Wall, who now has a 3-month-old daughter at home, said she is a strong supporter of public education in Natchez and Adams County — and continues to be — but needed time to focus on her family and career.

“Being a school board member is more of a commitment than attending a meeting once a month,” Wall said. “I don’t feel like I can fulfill the duties. If I’m going to be a part of it, I want to do it right. I don’t want to just show up once a month to vote on things. … Now that I have an infant, it’s a lot harder to be present.”

Wall was sworn in as a board member in Sept. 2017, and said her time since has been rewarding.

“There can be a lot of negative publicity at times,” Wall said. “While there are areas that need improvements, I feel like — as a whole — I’ve been glad to be able to see a lot of the positives and be a part of that. … Honestly, there’s a ton of positive things going on.

“We have one of the top 200 schools in the country, the Natchez Early College Academy. … We’re a very cohesive board, and (superintendent, Fred Butcher) has done a lot of positive things. He’s given up his travel budget to make sure that kids have computers. I’ve been able to be a part of a literacy project, where I’ve donated my school board salary to purchase library books for kids to keep and take home. There are a lot of things that go on that aren’t necessarily publicized.”

District 5 Supervisor Calvin Butler said the Adams County Board of Supervisors would start recommending prospective school board members by its next meeting on March 18, and would later vote on a new appointee.

Wall said if the Board of Supervisors were to appoint someone to the school board before May, she would be willing to step down.

“If I were to leave before the end of the school year, I felt like that wouldn’t be fair to the school board members, the Board of Supervisors, the Superintendent and the current students. So, I wanted to keep the consistency until the end of this school year,” Wall said. “I hope they can find someone who is a supporter of the school system and the community.”