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NATCHEZ — Natchez native Bob Buseck, executive director of the not-for-profit Mississippi Coding Academies, told the Natchez Mayor and Board of Aldermen on Tuesday that the organization will open its fifth coding academy in Natchez by late summer.

The mayor and aldermen held its first regular meeting of June at the NAPAC museum, as has become a tradition since Mayor Dan Gibson took office.

Buseck, who attended the meeting remotely, said the Natchez coding academy will join others his group operates in Jackson, Biloxi, Columbus and Clarksdale.

The initial start-up funding for the coding academy, which will be located in the Steckler building next to the Adams County Safe Room off Liberty Road, will come from a $75,000 Delta Regional Authority grant. Approximately $50,000 of those grant funds will go to pay the salary of a local coding instructor, Buseck said.

“We are proud to bring a technological advantage to the local populace in Natchez and Adams County and bridge the divide and provide the underserved population with technology education,” Buseck said. He said students who complete coding training will be qualified for lucrative technology careers.

He said the Mississippi Coding Academies was established in 2017 with the mission of providing quality technology education at no cost to underserved students and communities.

“These classes are open to anyone from age 18 to 99 at no cost,” Buseck said.

It is hoped that the academy in Natchez will be up and running by August.