Forms are available in the Lincoln County Circuit Clerk’s office for residents who want to try their hand at managing school business.

Three seats for the Lincoln County School Board are up for grabs in November and qualifying starts Aug. 8.

District 1 and 2 will be a general election for a six-year term, while District 5 will be a special election for a four-year term.

Lincoln County Circuit Clerk Dustin Bairfield said one person has already picked up a packet. The forms are available now, but Bairfield can’t accept any back until Aug. 8, he said.

All candidates must file a statement of intent and petition containing the signatures of not less than 50 qualified voters of the district with the circuit clerk’s office. A qualifying fee is not required.

Qualifying will continue through Sept. 7 at 5 p.m.

A candidate must also be a qualified elector of the district in which election is sought and have a high school diploma or its equivalent. District maps are available at the circuit clerk’s webpage at www.golincolnms.com. The maps are available through the “elections” page. A district map is also available for viewing at the Lincoln County School District map at www.lcsd.k12.ms.us. It’s listed as “School Attendance Zone Map.”

The election is Nov. 6.

Currently, those seats are held by Kay Coon (District 1), Johnny Hart (District 2) and Joanna Posey (District 5).

Members of the Lincoln County School Board receive $2,400 annually for their services and attend at least one called meeting each month.

Lincoln County School Superintendent Mickey Myers said he anticipates the three board members will seek additional terms, but they have not formally thrown their hats in the ring.

He stressed that anyone who wants to be a school board member must live in the district where they’ll be running. When Posey was appointed by the board to fill an unexpired term of her father-in-law, Michael, three other people expressed an interest in the position, Myers said. However, she was the only person who lived in District 5.

“Two were in District 2 and one was in the Brookhaven School District,” he said.

He said besides meeting the qualifications set forth by the state, a school board member for Lincoln County should care about the students in the district.

“They need to be passionate about the educational opportunities we provide in this county,” he said. “I admire those who are willing to serve. They don’t do it for the money.”

Whoever is elected to fill those three seats in November will help select the next superintendent for the district. A law passed in 2016 mandates the superintendent should be appointed by the school board, rather than elected by the people. The board’s appointee will take office Jan. 1, 2020.