Two candidates, including a sitting board member, have applied so far for an upcoming opening on the Columbus Municipal School District Board of Trustees.

Jason Spears has applied for reappointment to the seat, while longtime educator Cynthia Brown is trying a second time for appointment to the board.
The city council appoints CMSD trustees, which serve five-year staggered terms — with one seat coming up for reappointment each year.

Spears is president and chief investment officer with JDS Wealth Strategies in Columbus who has worked as an investment planner and financial strategist since 2003. He has spent 10 years on the CMSD board, serving multiple stints as president.

He holds a bachelor’s of business administration in managerial finance from the University of Mississippi.

Originally, Spears had planned not to seek reappointment to the CMSD board, but he said he changed his mind after several community members encouraged him to reapply.

“I was two feet out the door and shutting it behind me,” Spears said.

After much thought and prayer, he said, he decided there were still many issues in progress at the school district that he would like to see through. Among those is continuing to build financial health in the district, an effort he said would be aided by CMSD paying off the bonds it used to build the middle school in 2024. He also wants to continue working with his fellow board members and Superintendent Cherie Labat on policies to raise student achievement, especially during the lingering COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have a great board working together for the common good,” Spears said. “I feel like this is one way I can give back and serve my community.”

Brown has worked as an educator for more than 40 years, currently teaching third grade in the Pickens County, Alabama School District. She previously worked in administrative roles at the Lowndes County School District and as a teacher at CMSD.

A native of Columbus, Brown holds a bachelor’s in elementary education, and both a master’s and doctorate in educational leadership, all from Mississippi State University.

Though she applied in 2021 and was not appointed — the council instead reappointed Josie Shumake — Brown said she applied again because her experience as a “career educator” would make her an asset to the board.

Brown noted CMSD’s state test scores are “weak,” a problem driven to some degree by the pandemic and she aims to support administrative initiatives to meet that challenge.

“That’s going to require a lot of work for all the stakeholders,” she said. “It will be a challenge, but it’s a workable one. Dr. Labat has some wonderful ideas. She just needs some support and help.”

The deadline for candidates to apply is March 9. The council is expected to appoint a board member on March 15.

Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.