A small but supportive group of state lawmakers made the trip toBrookhaven Thursday to see and hear about progress at theMississippi School of the Arts.

“It’s fantastic. We are so proud for southwest Mississippi tohave this in Brookhaven,” said Rep. Zack Rushing, D-Tylertown, ashe admired Lampton Auditorium before a presentation on MSAdevelopments.

Rushing, a former Walthall County superintendent of education,lamented a past lack of opportunities for gifted arts students to”fine tune” their talents. He indicated the arts school wouldaddress those concerns.

“We’re proud of what we have here and doing everything we can tofind funding, both public and private,” Rushing said.

Rushing said Brookhaven leadership had shown that it knows howto work with both the public and private sector to get thingsaccomplished.

“All those leaders are to be commended,” Rushing said.

State funding needs were the clincher comments in a presentationon MSA progress by Executive Director Dr. Vicki Bodenhamer. MSAofficials are asking for $3.1 million in operational funding as theschool prepares to welcome its first class of students inAugust.

“Whether or not those students come is up to the legislature andthe receipt of operating funds,” Bodenhamer said.

Earlier, Bodenhamer said school officials are looking forward tothe day when doors can be opened to allow legislators and others tocome and hear students perform live. She encouraged lawmakers tohelp open the “doorway to dreams” for the state’s gifted artsstudents.

MSA’s logo is based on an upstairs doorway of Cooper Hall on theformer Whitworth College campus.

“It’s a doorway to opportunities for Mississippi students,”Bodenhamer said.

Bodenhamer touted the support the arts school has received frompartner entities, including the Mississippi Legislature, the stateDepartment of Education, the MSA Foundation, the City ofBrookhaven, the Brookhaven School District and Brookhaven HighSchool. She also applauded the support of the school’s ParentCommunity Council, a group of parents and volunteers who willprovide a support network for students when the school opens.

“The community support is a dynamite, powerful thing,”Bodenhamer said.

The director’s presentation included some of the first picturesof the inside of the eight-story Student Life Center. Constructioncrews are continuing work on the center and are now focusing moreon the facility’s interior.

“It won’t be long before we can invite you to come inside thebuilding,” Bodenhamer said.

One picture featured a view from the top of the Student LifeCenter. Bodenhamer said the view represents the idea of “limitlessopportunities for students.”

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of theirdreams,” Bodenhamer said, quoting former First Lady EleanorRoosevelt.

For some lawmakers, Thursday’s visit was an opportunity to seefirst hand what they had heard about in Jackson. One lawmaker onthe trip was Rep. Sara Thomas, D-Indianola, who shares a desk withBrookhaven’s Dr. Jim Barnett.

“Any time you mention it, his eyes light up,” Thomas said aboutBarnett’s reaction to arts school discussion.

Thomas compared Barnett’s feelings about the arts school to thatof a family addition.

“If he had to give birth to something, this would be it,” Thomassaid about the school. “He’s ecstatic about it.”

While lawmakers made up a handful of the audience, more than 125people came for the school presentation, a red beans and ricedinner and featured entertainment by Show Stoppers, a song anddance group of state children ages 6-16. In addition to lawmakers,Thursday’s audience included local officials, parents and otherschool supporters.

“I just want to see the school succeed,” said Steve See, wholives west of Hazlehurst in Copiah County.

See and his wife, Mary, are members of the Parent CommunityCouncil. See was hopeful their daughter Kathleen, a seventh grader,would be able to attend the school in the future.

“It’s something that needs to be supported,” See said.

Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce ExecutiveVice-president Chandler Russ said a number of conflicts, especiallyat this time of the legislative session, likely kept some lawmakersfrom being able to attend Thursday’s event.

“We’re proud of the legislators who were able to come and seethe progress on the school of the arts,” Russ said. “We’re lookingforward to it opening.”