POPLARVILLE — Poplarville voters will choose all five members of the school district’s board of trustees this November under a new state law changing how the board is selected. 

The Poplarville School District is shifting from a fully appointed board to a fully elected board beginning July 1. The change comes through House Bill 1142, a bench warrant bill that also included language changing board representation in the Poplarville School District. 

The move follows an earlier effort by Rep. Jansen Owen to require elections for all Mississippi school board seats. That bill, House Bill 1293, passed the House but did not reach the governor’s desk. 

“(HB 1293) did pass out of the House. Ultimately, it was not taken up in the Senate, but I was happy to see it get that far,” Owen said. “With that momentum, I was at least able to accomplish (the shift) for the schools in my district, where a large majority of the requests had come from.” 

Owen, who represents District 106, said the push came from residents who wanted a more direct role in selecting school board members. 

Owen posted a poll on Facebook asking constituents whether school board members should be elected. He said 96% of people who responded supported elected boards. 

“They wanted to have better access to the board members who make decisions about their children’s health and education,” Owen said. “They want to be able to go to board meetings and speak to their representatives on the board. They want to be able to take issues and address concerns if they believe the district is spending too much money or appropriating money somewhere they shouldn’t be, and they want to have an elected representative that they could go to hold the district accountable.” 

Under the new law, the Pearl River County Board of Supervisors divided the Poplarville School District into five trustee election districts. Each district will have one board member.

Candidates must file their intent to run by 5 p.m. Sept. 1. The first election will be held in November, with newly elected members taking office in January 2027. 

“The district lines are all of equal population, so one member will come from each district,” Owen said. 

Owen said the change will not lead to a tax increase. 

Previously, three board members were appointed by Pearl River County supervisors, while two were appointed by the city of Poplarville. Under the new system, voters in each trustee district will elect one representative. 

The current trustees will leave office in January unless they run for election and win a seat. 

Hudson Holliday, a Poplarville resident and former Pearl River County supervisor, said he understands arguments for elected boards but worries about who will run and how many people will vote. 

“How many people are going to go vote for the school board election?” Holliday said. “I really am concerned with who’s going to run and what the voter turnout is going to be. I hope we get good people.” 

Holliday said some qualified residents may avoid running because elections make the role more political. 

“A lot of people that would do a great job — No. 1, they will not run,” Holliday said. “I know a lot of people that we put on there, that they would have never put their name on a ballot, because then you’re entering the political realm.” 

Owen said he believes there will be qualified candidates in each district. 

After the first election, terms will be staggered so all five seats do not appear on the ballot at the same time. 

“Three seats will come open during midterm election years and two seats will come open during presidential election years, so all five members will not come up for reelection at the same time,” Owen said. 

The two seats tied to the presidential election cycle will serve shorter initial terms before shifting to four-year terms in 2028. 

Residents can view the new district map through the county’s Explorer App to see which trustee district they live in. 

“It’s our children, it’s our future,” Holliday said. “There are good points to both sides. … I hope out of all of this that the function of the school board improves.” 

The next Poplarville school board meeting is scheduled for June 8 at 6 p.m. at the Poplarville High School library.