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The Clinton Public School District Board of Trustees is the governing body ensuring that CPSD provides a high quality education to the children of the Clinton community. The School Board is comprised of five members appointed by the city of Clinton.
Members Include:
Mr. Bernard Kines
Mr. Kines is a 1994 graduate of Clinton High School and holds an Associate's Degree in Business Administration from Hinds Community College and a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Mississippi State University. He has worked for Mississippi Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance company for more than 19 years, where his current position is field underwriter. He is certified as an Associate in Insurance, Associate in General Insurance, and as an American Agricultural Insurance Company AgAdvisor.
He has served on the Clinton Main Street Association board since 2011, and was appointed president in 2014. He serves as Chairman of the Economic Vitality Committee. He is a graduate of the 2019 Leadership Clinton program.
Mr. Kines is an active member of Greater Pearlie Grove Missionary Baptist Church. He lives in Clinton with his wife Shonda and their son Sean, a CPSD student.
Mrs. Paula DeYoung
Paula DeYoung joined the Board of Trustees in 2015. She and her husband Danny are both Clinton High School Graduates and two of their four children are also CPSD alums - Garrett graduated in 2011 and Callen graduated in 2013. Tanner and Carsson currently attend CPSD schools.
Mrs. DeYoung is a majority owner in design business PIA Solutions, LLC and an employee of Probity Contracting Group, LLC. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Louisiana Tech University's School of Art and Architecture.
She is a former Parent of the Year at Lovett Elementary School (2014-14), Sumner Hill Junior High School (2009-10), and Clinton Public School District (2009-10). She has served as president of PTOs at Lovett Elementary, Eastside Elementary, Sumner Hill Junior High and Clinton High School. She has served as booster club president of the CHS volleyball and girls soccer teams, and a booster club member of the swim team and Clinton Association of Gifted Children.
Mr. and Mrs. DeYoung are active in the Clinton community. Mrs. DeYoung is a member of Clinton Junior Civic League. She and her family are members of Morrison Heights Baptist Church.
Dr. Felicia Gavin
Dr. Gavin joined the Board of Trustees in 2017. She is the Chief of Operations for the Mississippi Department of Education. She holds a doctorate degree in higher education from Jackson State University, a master's of business administration from Mississippi College, and a bachelor's degree in accounting from Louisiana Tech University.
Prior to joining MDE, Dr. Gavin served as the Executive Vice President and General Manager of DiamondJacks Casino and Hotel in Vicksburg where she managed a workforce of more than 300 employees and had a $50 million budget. Prior to working at DiamondJacks (formerly Isle of Capri), she worked for Gov. Ronnie Musgrove as Director of Administration. She has also worked for Hughes Aircraft, Harrah's Entertainment and Belhaven College. Dr. Gavin is also an adjunct professor at Alcorn State University where she teaches in the Masters of Business Administration program.
She serves on the board of directors for the Better Business Bureau and the Mississippi Council on Problem and Compulsive Gambling. She is the past president of the Sumner Hill Junior High PTO, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, a Leadership Jackson graduate, former member of the board of directors for Vicksburg Convention and Visitor's Bureau, and prior chairwoman of the board of directors for United Way of West Central Mississippi.
Dr. Gavin is an active member of Anderson United Methodist Church in Jackson. In 2016 she was named Mississippi Business Journal's Business Woman of the Year and also Girl Scouts Woman of Distinction. She and her husband live in Clinton along with their daughter Verlecia.
Dr. Matt Thomas
Dr. Thomas joined the Board of Trustees in 2015. He is a Clinton native and a graduate of Clinton High School.
He attended Mississippi College and the University of Mississippi Medical School. He graduated from the University of Mississippi Medical Center with a bachelor of science degree in Physical Therapy in 1997 and a Doctor of Physical Therapy in 2006.
Dr. Thomas is a physical therapist and clinic manager for Baptist Physical Therapy and Sportscare at the Baptist Healthplex in Clinton. He is a clinical instructor for students at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and Mississippi College, and taught an Advanced Sports Medicine course at Mississippi College for six years. He is an active member of the American Physical Therapy Association and the Mississippi Physical Therapy Association.
He is a member of First Baptist Church in Clinton where he served on the Deacon Council and various committees. He also serves as team manager for two soccer teams within Brilla Soccer Ministries, and is activly involved in coaching all three of his children's sports teams in Clinton.
Dr. Thomas is married to Amanda Bacon Thomas and has three children, Nathan, Hayden, and Elise, all attending Clinton public schools.
Mr. Derek Holmes
Mr. Holmes joined the Board of Trustees in 2012. He is a Clinton native and a graduate of Clinton High School. He holds a bachelor of science degree in accounting from Mississippi College and a master's degree in Business Administration.
Mr. Holmes worked for Ikon Office Solutions for 18 years in sales, sales management and served as marketplace president. In 2004, he joined his brother in the specialty advertising business. They currently own Holmes Specialty Advertising and American T's located in Clinton.
He has served on the board of The Mustard Seed and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He is a member of Morrison Heights Baptist Church where he has served as a deacon and served on various committees. He is the chairman of the Child Development Center committee. He spends much of his time coaching the various sports in which his children are involved.
Mr. Holmes has been married to Penny Smith of Pascagoula for nearly 18 years. They are the pround parents of Claire, Madeline and Grant, all students in the Clinton Public School District.
