MELTON: SAFE SCHOOLS TO BE BUREAU'S FOCUS

TV Exec's Seat on State Board of Education Not Violation of Ethics Laws

Mississippi's new drug czar, TV executive Frank Melton, told fellow
state Board of Education members Thursday that safe schools and safe
neighborhoods are a priority in his new role.

Melton, a member of the board for 10 years, said he does not plan to
resign, even though he is now director of the Mississippi Bureau of
Narcotics.

But on Thursday he stayed at the monthly meeting only long enough to
tell board members how concerned he is about schoolchildren being
associated with drugs.

"My main priority will be to secure the safety of our students in
Mississippi," he promised board members.

Mississippi Ethics Commission officials say there's no conflict of
interest or violation of state ethics laws for Melton to serve with
the Board of Education and head the state narcotics bureau.

Under ethics statutes, Melton isn't barred from serving with the two
agencies at the same time, said Ethics Commission Director Scott
Rankin. "I don't see a prohibition."

Also, "I don't think there's a separation of powers problem," Rankin
said, referring to a section of Mississippi's 1890 Constitution
regarding division of powers of state government.

Melton told board members that he has already started working on
making schools and the neighborhoods around them secure.

On Tuesday, he and a bevy of law enforcement officers went to the
Maple Street area of Jackson's Lanier High, then into the school,
walking the halls and talking to students and educators.

John Coleman, director of safety and security for the Jackson
district, said Melton called district offices first.

Coleman said about 18 law enforcement officers were present, including
three of his safety officers and officers from the Hinds County
Sheriff's Department and Jackson Police Department.

He said "nothing out of the ordinary" happened on the short
walk-through.

"They met, walked through Lanier, got in the car and left," Coleman
said.

Melton told state board members he plans to do much more of that in
his new role as director of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.

Melton has been a member of the nine-member state board that oversees
policy for the state's 496,000 schoolchildren and 149 districts since
he was appointed by then-Lt. Gov. Eddie Briggs in 1992.

Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck reappointed him earlier this year, and he was
confirmed by the Senate.

While Melton is a passionate, vocal advocate for helping children when
he is at state board meetings, his attendance at the two-day monthly
meetings has been spotty through the years.

Since January 2000, state board attendance records show there have
been 37 voting sessions, including 36 regular Friday sessions and one
special voting session. Melton has attended 26, missing 11.

Melton, a volunteer swim coach all summer at the Farish Street YMCA,
frequently will miss every summer meeting, although sometimes he will
come dressed in shorts and sneakers with a line of YMCA summer campers
trailing behind him.

Melton said he does not plan to abandon his board duties. "As soon as
I get my feet on the ground, I will be attending meetings," he said.