During the upcoming general election on Nov. 6, members of two seats on the Pearl River County School Board of Trustees will be elected.

Superintendent Alan Lumpkin said that this election will be for a five year term, instead of the Board’s typical six year term due to a mix-up between the District and the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office.

Back in 2016, the Secretary of State’s Office sent the Board a letter indicating that the Board’s elections were out of cycle. Lumpkin said that some research was conducted on the Board’s end to determine the cause of the notice and to establish whether the Board was out of cycle. That research determined that due to the Board’s six year term, it was not out of cycle and the Secretary of State was notified.

With the Secretary of State’s approval, the Board approved a motion to extend the term for Districts 1 and 2 for another year until another general election could be held, which is this year.

Members currently in those seats are Rodney Dyess and Jeremy Weir respectively.

Anyone interested in running for either of these offices can do so by submitting a qualifying statement of intent and a petition signed by at least 50 registered voters, who live within the District of which the candidate is running for office, to the Pearl River County Circuit Clerk’s office before Sept. 7 of this year. Candidates will need to live in the District for which they seek office.

Other documentation required includes a statement of economic interest to be electronically filed with the Mississippi State Ethics Commission no later than 15 days after qualifying, according to documentation from the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office. The candidate must also file a campaign finance disclosure report with the Pearl River County Circuit Clerk’s office no later than 5 p.m. on Sept. 7.