2 open seats on LCSD board: Positions should have been filled in ‘14 election
Published 11:13 pm Saturday, August 22, 2015
The Lincoln County School District school board will have two positions on the ballot in November after some discrepancies called that into question.
Lincoln County School District attorney Jim Keith said in a statement that educational districts 3 and 4 (representing West Lincoln and Bogue Chitto) were inadvertently left off the ballot in 2014.
The election of those positions will be this year. The elected members will serve the remaining five years of the six-year term to ensure the positions are on the correct cycle.
The Lincoln County Circuit Clerk’s office accepted the first qualifier for the West Lincoln district Friday. Ben Burns, who is an insurance agent, is a graduate of the Lincoln County School District.
Burns said he decided to run after hearing current board member Jack Case would not be seeking re-election.
“I feel like I would have an unbiased opinion, and I would be open-minded,” he said.
Burns has a son who is a senior at West Lincoln, and he believes not having a child in the school system, except for a few months, will keep him from showing favoritism.
Candidates can qualify for the position until Sept. 4 at 5 p.m. Fifty signatures are needed to make it on the ballot.
The Brookhaven School District also has an at-large position open. The seat represents those who live in the school district but outside the city limits. Lucy Shell is the only person who has qualified for that position.