NATCHEZ —Natchez-Adams County School District board members said despite what residents heard at Monday evening’s candidate forum, the school district is not to blame for every ill in the community.

Candidates running for county supervisor spoke during Monday’s candidate forum at the Natchez Convention Center. The forum sponsored by the Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce gave candidates an opportunity to introduce themselves and answer a series of questions about issues facing the community.

NASD school board member Phillip West said he was disappointed to hear a number of people blaming the public school district on the lack of economic development.

Pounding his fist at times during his report at Tuesday’s regularly scheduled board meeting, West said many of the statements made about the district are false.

“To sit up and blame the Natchez-Adams School District for all of the ills — the loss of population and the loss of economic development — in Natchez and Adams County is totally untrue,” West said. “I know because I have been here the entire time.”

West said he believes the loss of population in the area can be blamed on the attitudes of some in the community.

“But I guarantee you it hasn’t been because of the Natchez-Adams County public school district,” West said. “It has more to do with the attitude that started over 50 years ago.”

West said the establishment of the area’s private schools after desegregation , including the former Thomas Jefferson School, recently closed Trinity Episcopal School and Adams County Christian School, plus the expansion of Cathedral School contributed to what he called “a spiral of not having community support for public education.”

Unlike the private schools, the public schools are required to educate every child who comes to the public schools regardless of socio-economic background and other factors, West said.

“Many of these kids do not have the kind of support they need (at home) and we are doing the best we can,” West said.

West said he was also disappointed by discussion about the amount of money being spent per student in the district.

“In relative terms we are not overspending as it relates to per-student costs based on our circumstances,” West said. “Actually, we should have a lot more money because we need to have social workers and other positions available to go school to school and track these young people who don’t have the proper support at home. They have been living with their grandmothers, their grandfathers or living with nobody. We expect them to come to school and be just on top of things as Mr. Butcher’s child or my child. That is totally unfair.”

West said he was encouraged by some comments made during the forum that praised the Natchez Early College Academy and other recent improvements in the school district. Even still, West said he was dismayed by the majority of comments made about the school district in the forum.

“It is hurtful to know that as much as we are trying to do the right thing, there are too many people in this community who either because they don’t understand or they don’t care to understand it, they want use the school district as the scape goat for the ills of this community.”

The board’s newest member, Dianne Bunch said she shares some of the same concerns as West.

“We have challenges in the community,” Bunch said. “Our public school system is important to everything that we do as far as the workforce — the workforce that we are gaining.”

Bunch said she is interested in many of the positive developments in the district, including the Natchez Early College Academy. Bunch said she is especially interested in the continued improvement in ACT scores in the school district.

“There are certain standards that we are able to achieve that are going to say much clearer — even to Mr. West — that what we are doing is the right thing,” Bunch said. “I think some of the scores will show that.”

Bunch said she wants to build on the successes that have happened under the tenure of Superintendent Fred Butcher and Deputy Superintendent Zandra McDonald.

School board member Thelma Newsome echoed many of West’s comments during the board meeting.

Newsome, who attended Monday’s forum, said she too was very disappointed in many of the comments that were made about the school district.

“(The candidates) went down the line with everything that is wrong with Natchez,” Newsome said. “I don’t know why that sentiment is being felt.”

Newsome also said whether the school board is elected or appointed makes no difference to her.

“It is six, one half a dozen of another as far as I am concerned,” Newsome said. “What does matter is who are you going to put in those positions that is going to care about the children you have in the school district?”

Newsome said she is proud of the students who are being educated in the school district.

“I have had four children to come through the Natchez-Adams School District, and I would put any one of them up against anybody’s child who went to school anywhere,” Newsome said.

Like West, Newsome said the public school district deals with many things the private schools do not and still produces excellent students.

“We have a lot of other things that we have to deal with in the Natchez-Adams School District and one thing I can say and one thing I know is that our children do excel,” Newsome said.

Newsome said some people need to start talking about the positive things happening in the school district.

“They can stop talking to me about what we are not doing. We need to focus on the good things we are doing, because there are some good things,” Newsome said.