Mayor Announces New JPS Board Nominees

Courtesy JPS

Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba nominated five new board members to the JPS Board of Trustees.

Jackson City Council members will meet on Wednesday morning to discuss the confirmation of five nominees for the Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees. In Jackson, the mayor appoints school board members, and the city council must confirm each member. The school board, like council, consists of seven members–one from each ward of the city.

Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba has nominated five new board members, the agenda for the special meeting shows. The JPS School Board previously had four members before the State threatened a takeover of the school district. In a third option, Gov. Phil Bryant, the mayor, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation formed a commission to study the district and produce a gap analysis. The commission is independent of JPS’ day-to-day operations, however, and the school district needs a board to govern it. The four previous school board members willingly resigned as a part of the third option for JPS.

Lumumba’s JPS Board nominees:

-Ed Sivak

-Letitia Johnson (who was Lumumba’s only previous nominee)

-Barbara Hilliard

-Jeanne Hairston

-Robert Luckett

The city council will meet on Wednesday morning to confirm the members. The JPS Board is scheduled to meet tonight at 5:30 p.m., but without a board, that meeting will likely be moved or canceled. Read more about the takeover/options for JPS here.