One seat on the South Panola School District Board of Trustees is open this year, and qualifying for the position will open Aug. 10 at the Circuit Clerk’s office at the Batesville Courthouse. The last day to qualify is Sept. 9 at 5 p.m.

Qualifying paperwork can be picked up at the courthouse. There are a few requirements, most important the residency stipulation. Candidates must be a resident of the district that is on the ballot.

The current district up for election is District 5. The seat is currently held by Kenny Hopper.

School board districts do not follow city aldermen or county supervisors districts. Circuit Clerk Melissa Meek-Phelps said voters who are unsure of their school board district can contact her offices at 563-6210 or 487-2073 for either the South Panola or North Panola districts.

School board candidates do not qualify with party affiliation and there are no primaries. The candidate with the most votes in the Nov. 8 general election will be the trustee.

Meek-Phelps said her office has received numerous inquiries about school board elections and qualifying requirements this year, noting the interest in that election has been “more than we normally see, and earlier than usual.”

The November election is an off-year for city and most county elections. Circuit and Chancery Court judges were unopposed. It’s a Congressional election year and the 2nd District seat held by Rep. Bennie Thompson will be on the ballot. 

There will be a special election for District Attorney for the 17th Judicial District, but longtime assistant District Attorney Jay Hale was the only candidate to qualify for the position and will be the new DA.

Current District Attorney John Champion will serve in the new 23rd Judicial District, formed by the State Legislature for DeSoto County. He will presumably seek office in that district at the next election.

Hale will be the DA for the 17th District, which beginning Jan. 1, 2023, will be Panola, Tate, Yalobusha, and Tallahatchie Counties, but will have to qualify and run again in 2023 when the regular scheduled DA election cycle falls.

One special election will be for the Elections Commission seat from District 2. Julius Harris has been the commissioner for that district for many years and has retired. The Board of Supervisors declared that seat open and set a special election this week. 

The board asked District 2 Supervisor Earl Burdette to recommend an appointment to fill the seat until the November election, and he chose Dietrick Johnson. The board unanimously approved the appointment.

Qualifying for the Elections Commission seat automatically opened with the supervisors’ declaration of an open seat. Qualifying for the position will run through Sept. 9 at 5 p.m. Potential candidates can pick up the necessary paperwork at either the Sardis or Batesville Courthouses.