Qualifying begins today for anyone interested in seeking election to either of the two Vicksburg Warren School District trustee positions that will appear on ballots in November.

One incumbent, District 1’s Jerry Boland, says he will seek re-election, and the other, District 5’s Tommy Shelton, says he will not. Both are finishing their first six-year terms.

The districts are the same as those for county supervisors. District 1 is an area around Culkin and Oak Ridge roads and U.S. 61 North. District 5 includes areas south of Interstate 20, east from Fisher Ferry Road.

Boland, first elected in 2004, is a 51-year-old roofing contractor who has three daughters who graduated from Warren Central High School. “I am just as dedicated to the well-being of the young people in our community as I was six years, ago, if not moreso,” said Boland, who has served as board president during his tenure.

Shelton, 57 and an engineer, said he will bow out. “I have thoroughly enjoyed my association with the school district — and I continue to enjoy that relationship,” he said, “but I do feel it’s time to step down and let someone else have a chance.”

Candidates must be residents of the districts and may pick up qualifying papers in the Circuit Clerk’s Office at the Warren County Courthouse to be returned before 5 p.m. Oct. 1.

The role of school trustees, who meet monthly, is to set policy and monitor financial accountability. Operational management is the responsibility of a superintendent, hired by the trustees. Terms are staggered in two-year intervals to avoid having an all-new board. Members are paid $200 per month plus travel expenses to guide the 9,000-student district which has an $80 million budget.

Other board members are president Zelmarine Murphy, District 2, whose term ends in 2012; James Stirgus Jr., District 3, whose term ends in 2014; and Joseph Loviza, District 4, whose term ends in 2014.