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| 19-Year Old Elected Tuesday |
He's barely old enough to vote, let alone run for office, but an SIU-Edwardsville sophomore has been elected to an Illinois school board.
Justin Sandbach, 19, will now serve on the school board in Roxana, a town of around 1,500 in the Metro East area. This election unseated three incumbents, which Sandbach says is indicative that Roxana residents were ready for a change. That's something he says he can bring.
The first thing he says he'll look at is the budget. He says teachers are losing their jobs, and he wants to go through the budget to see what can be cut before he tries to raise revenue. That's why he says he can't promise property taxes won't go up, but any attempt to raise revenues will come under "intense scrutiny."
Sandbach, who's studying post-secondary education and history at SIUE, isn't worried about balancing school with his school board responsibilities, even though he's considering double majoring. He says he has excellent organizational skills, and he knows how important his new job is. He promises to take it seriously because the futures of Roxana's children are at stake.
Sandbach says his rise to school board reminds some people of U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Peoria), who also got his start on the Peoria school board at the age of 19. But Sandbach calls Schock a "genius" and doesn’t want to be compared to him yet. Sandbach isn't sure if this will serve as a stepping stone toward a career in politics, but he did say it's possible.
(Illinois Radio Network) |
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| 04 08 09 by Newsroom |
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