South Panola School District board president Lygunnah Bean has been elected president of the Mississippi School Boards Association.

Bean, employed as the Panola County road manager, was elected Tuesday, November 17 by the Delegates Assembly –– a body of school board member representatives from across the state.

They convened for the annual business session during the Mississippi School Boards Association’s Fall Leadership Conference in Jackson earlier this week.

Under MSBA bylaws, the association’s president is authorized to appoint four  members to serve on the MSBA Board of Directors during his/her one-year term of office to serve with other elected board members.

 Bean has been a member of the board of trustees of the South Panola School District since 1992, serving as its president for the past six years. He served as presidential appointee to the MSBA Board of Directors twice before being elected to the MSBA board.

 Prior to the start of his career, the South Panola board member studied tool and die making at Northwest Community College, later opting to pursue studies in computer programming and earned certification in the field.

He used his computer knowledge to develop and install a computerized road and bridge system for Panola County, where he works as county road manager. He also owns a computer consulting, bookkeeping and accounting business.

 A strong advocate for children, Bean has worked as a volunteer for Boys and Girls Club of Northwest Mississippi, serving as a member of the organization’s Personnel Committee.  

Bean and his wife Deborah have two daughters: Nadia, a freshman at Northwest Community College; and, Lakenna, a social services counselor at the Finch-Henry Job Corps Center in Batesville.