STARKVILLE, Miss. — Voters in the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District turned out a first-term trustee Tuesday, electing retired educator Maggie Cooks over incumbent board member Cassandra Palmer, unofficial returns show.
Cooks drew 4,028 votes, or 56.1%, to 3,102 votes, or 43.2%, for Palmer, according to the Oktibbeha County Circuit Clerk’s Office. Another 898 affidavit ballots remain outstanding in Oktibbeha and are not yet part of the totals.
Cooks taught in the district for 25 of the 28 years she worked in education. She campaigned on representing every school and every student and on getting the community more involved with the district. Palmer, who won the seat in 2021, ran on her record and on her wish to see the new Starkville High School project through to completion.
The race was one of only two elected spots on the five-member board, whose trustees serve staggered five-year terms. Only district residents of Oktibbeha County living outside the Starkville city limits could vote in it.
At a candidate forum before the vote, the two split over how open the board has been about building the new high school. Palmer pointed to streamed board meetings, construction updates at each meeting and a webpage devoted to the project, while Cooks said residents feel the district has not been forthcoming and suggested community meetings and surveys.
In the other contested Oktibbeha County race, County Court Judge Lee Ann Turner won a second term, taking 7,700 votes, or 56.1%, to 5,921 votes, or 43.2%, for challenger Marty Haug. Turner, first elected in 2023, said her office has applied for grants and is close to launching several new programs.
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