The Mexico Public Schools Board of Education (BOE) is whole again with seven members after the appointment of Lennette Brown to the board at a special meeting held Tuesday, Aug. 29.

Brown took her seat for her first vote as a board member to close the meeting. When the vote reached Board President Keith Louder he didn’t simply say yes.

“Finally 7-0-0 the meeting is adjourned,” Louder said with a big smile.

The board has been in flux for the last couple of months with resignations. In July the board appointed Michelle Stephens to serve the remainder of Marci Orr’s term when she left to take a position within the district. Days after the board appointed Stephens former BOE President Todd Yager announced he was stepping down from the board.

Stephens competed with four other candidates for her seat which included Brown. None of the other candidates resubmitted applications for the open seat created by Yager’s departure. 

Erik Richardson had originally filed but could not attend the special meeting where interviews were conducted. Richardson did participate in Tuesday’s interviews. Current Mexico City Councilman Chris Williams also interviewed for the board seat.

The nomination process started with BOE Member Scott Nichols nominating Williams for the spot but the motion only got affirmative votes from Nichols and BOE Member Matt Pilger. BOE Member Jessica Ekern then nominated Brown, who was seated with affirmative votes by all members of the board.

After the meeting Brown received hugs from friends, family, and some of the board members. Brown is a nurse at the Arthur Center and is this year’s Eugene Field PTO president. Brown said she would be an advocate for the children and teachers.

“I’m not an educator but I have seen what some of our educators have had to go through and I’ve seen what some of our kids have had to go through,” Brown said after the meeting. “Schools are different from when my kids were in, schools are different from when I was in. We just have to be ready and be available to help these kids be successful and that’s what we want, we want the kids to be successful.”

Brown said her big thing is being supportive of teachers.

“We need to make sure our teachers and our educators have what they need to be able to teach our children,” Brown said. “They’re with our kids sometimes longer than we are. If you have happy teachers you’re going to have happy kids.”

Brown and Stephens face re-election in April if they want to continue to serve on the board. Voters will have to choose three new members in the next election. Louder’s seat is up for election with Stephen’s seat. Both are three-year terms. 

Brown’s situation is a little bit different. Yager’s term began in April, which means his seat will only be for a two-year term when voters go to the polls.