Brian Magee will be the next county school board representative for the Bogue Chitto area.

The Lincoln County School District Board of Trustees on Monday appointed the 40-year-old Navy veteran and technology specialist to serve Educational District 3 on a 4-0 vote, bringing the board back to full capacity at five members. Magee will be sworn in at the board’s next meeting Nov. 19 at 5 p.m. and will undergo board training in the coming weeks.

“I’m ready to get involved, ready to see how this process works,” Magee said following the vote in his favor. “I appreciate the board doing its due diligence, not just rushing into a decision.”

Magee was chosen from a group of six applicants that included business owner Perry Brown, educator Barbara Buie, artist Stephanie Davis Holmes, retired worker Debbie Thompson and legal assistant Dallas Wallace.

With his appointment, Magee becomes the first-ever black representative to serve on the county school board.

“I never really thought about it, something that didn’t cross my mind — I was just looking forward to being part of the school board,” Magee said. “That’s a pretty big deal. The job carries a little more weight now. People will look at how I operate as a precedent, and people will be looking at me a little harder. I’m ready to do what’s best for the county schools.”

Magee will serve the remaining year of the unexpired term of former board member Rickey Welch, who resigned Sept. 10. He will run for a full term next November in the 2019 general election.

District 2 Trustee Johnny Hart made the motion to appoint Magee, and District 1 Trustee Kay Coon seconded before a unanimous vote with no discussion. The process was a contrast to discussions the board held on Oct. 15, when members began a name-by-name examination of two candidates — Magee and Buie — before tabling the appointment for another week.

The board appears to have agreed to Magee’s appointment prior to Monday’s meeting.

“(Board president Diane Gill) kind of polled us individually during the week, and that was the name everybody came up with,” Hart said. “I liked his personality, liked his background. He seems truly interested in doing what’s best for the children in our district.”

Gill said the board did not have a “set pattern” for choosing an appointee.

“We had six exceptional people to consider, and we had to pick one,” she said. “They all bring a lot to the table. I prayed a lot. I think it’s God’s hand, I really do.”

District 1 Trustee Kay Coon called Magee “the total package” for a school board member.

“When I asked him why he wanted to become a school board member, he said he’d heard lots of rumors and different stories, and he wanted to get involved and find out the truth for himself,” she said.

District 5 Trustee Joanna Posey said the board felt “comfortable” with Magee.

“I prayed over it and made the best decision I could make,” she said. “We had six good candidates, but to make a decision, you have to make a decision.”