Austin Sanders
Austin Sanders was a candidate for at-large representative on the Cabell County School Board in West Virginia. The general election was held on May 10, 2016.[1] He lost the election.[2]
All five candidates running in the 2016 school board race discussed the issues facing the district with The Herald-Dispatch. To see what they said, check out the "Issues in the election" section below.
Biography
Sanders was a student at the American School of Correspondence. He planned to attend Marshall University in the fall of 2016. Sanders worked as an intern for the City of Huntington from 2014 to 2015. He also interned for the Cabell County Magistrate Court Clerk’s Office from 2012 to 2013.[3]
Elections
2016
- See also: Cabell County Schools elections (2016)
Two of the five seats on the Cabell County Schools School Board were up for general election on May 10, 2016. In his bid for re-election, incumbent Garland "Skip" Parsons ran against four challengers—Scott Caserta, Gordon Ramey II, Austin Sanders and Denis Chapman.[1][4] Parsons won re-election, and Ramey won the open seat.[2]
Though the election was held at large, only two members from the same geographical district could be on the board during a given term. Parsons and Caserta were from District 4. Chapman and Ramey were from District 2, and Sanders was from District 1.[1][5] The three members of the board not up for election in 2016 were from Districts 1, 2 and 4. That meant that only one candidate from each of those districts could win election to the board, which pinned Parsons and Caserta against each other and Chapman and Ramey against each other.[4] Though Caserta received more votes than Ramey, he did not receive enough to defeat Parsons, which gave Ramey the chance to take the seat.[2][6]
Results
| Cabell County Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Garland "Skip" Parsons Incumbent |
31.03% | 8,924 |
| Scott Caserta | 24.02% | 6,907 |
| Gordon Ramey II |
17.70% | 5,089 |
| Denis Chapman | 16.79% | 4,827 |
| Austin Sanders | 10.35% | 2,976 |
| Write-in votes | 0.11% | 33 |
| Total Votes | 28,756 | |
| Source: Cabell County Clerk, "2016 Primary Election Results," accessed May 27, 2016 | ||
Funding
The Cabell County Clerk's Office does not publish and freely disclose school board candidate campaign finance reports. Ballotpedia requested this information, but the county did not provide it.
Endorsements
Sanders received no official endorsements in the election.
Campaign themes
2016
The Herald-Dispatch Q&A
The Herald-Dispatch asked the candidates in this race the following four bolded questions. Sanders' responses are shown below.
| “ | What do you see your role should be as a member of the Board of Education?
As a product of Cabell County Schools, I understand the challenges our education system faces first-hand. I aspire to become your advocate in building a brighter future for the next generation – bringing fresh ideas to the Board of Education. How would you address the dropout issue? We’re all aware of the correlation between the student dropout rate and the “school-to-prison pipeline”. Fortunately, we have seen an overall reduction in the dropout rate in recent years. However, more can still be done to solve this issue. We must begin to invest in early learning, and provide the at-risk students the resources they need to achieve. How would you encourage more parental involvement? Parental involvement is perhaps the most important detail of student achievement. We must work to create a more welcoming school environment for parents, establish effective school-to-home and home-to-school communication, and strengthen families’ knowledge to extend their child’s learning at home. How would you increase the rigor of the curriculum to benefit students? Our community’s brightest days are not set in stone, but rather perched on the corner that lies ahead. Achieving this vision requires evolving our current curriculum to meet the demands of the 21st century. We must work to expand the use of technology in the classroom, raise standards across-the-board, and create partnerships with institutions of higher learning.[7] |
” |
| —Austin Sanders (March 9, 2016)[3] | ||
Editorial
Sanders highlighted the following issues in an editorial he wrote for The Herald-Dispatch:
| “ | The most valuable asset in a child's life is a high-quality education. The value of this asset is perhaps most critical when preparing our young people for the jobs of the future. West Virginia faces many challenges, and we're all aware of the fact that far too many families in our state are struggling. It is through the opportunity of education that we may begin to heal the wounds that have long plagued our community, and aspire towards creating a place fueled by economic mobility and prosperity.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for Cabell County is 5.9 percent - that's nearly 1 percentage point higher than the national unemployment rate. In addition to having a higher than the national average unemployment rate, our community is also troubled by wages that are below the national average. Simultaneously, too many young people have become victims of our substance abuse epidemic. These factors in addition to the sheer lack of economic mobility have had a devastating impact on our state. According to Forbes magazine, members of our mountaineer family are leaving West Virginia at the third-highest rate in the nation - that's unconscionable. As a soon-to-be college student, it saddens me to grasp the idea that a large portion of my classmates will one day be forced to leave our state to find employment. I too often fear that I may one day find myself in the same situation. The presentation of these statistics prompts a serious question: How may we begin to rectify our community? This question is quite simple, but at the same time extremely difficult to answer. We're all aware of the benefits of investing in K-12 education. But often, we forget the importance of early childhood education. Long-term studies have indicated that for every dollar the United States invests in early learning, taxpayers can expect to see a return of about seven dollars. These savings stem from a lower incarceration rate, a shrinking teenage pregnancy rate, and more students achieving - advancing through high school, college and/or career ready. Without question, early childhood education is one of the most important investments we as a community can make. Often times, students who begin kindergarten are already six to 16 months behind their peers - that's simply not fair. In order to move our community forward, we must begin to create a world-class school where all students are achieving. This means that we must begin to invest in early childhood education, and work vigorously to ensure that all students are on a level playing field by the time they reach kindergarten. Our state faces many challenges, but I reject to think of these challenges as problems. For every challenge we face lies great opportunity. As a product of Cabell County Schools, I understand the challenges our education system faces first-hand. I'm running for Board of Education because I want to build a world-class school district where all students are achieving - adding value to the most precious asset our young people possess. I humbly ask for your support in the upcoming election, and I hope that we can work together to advance our community forward.[7] |
” |
| —Austin Sanders (April 20, 2016)[8] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Austin Sanders' 'Cabell County Schools'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cabell County Clerk, "2016 Candidate Filings," accessed February 1, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cabell County Clerk, "2016 Primary Election Results," accessed May 10, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Herald-Dispatch, "Cabell Board of Education candidate: Austin Sanders," March 9, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cabell County Schools, "Board," accessed February 1, 2016
- ↑ West Virginia Legislature, "Chapter 18. Education: Article 5. County Board Of Education," accessed February 1, 2016
- ↑ The Herald-Dispatch, "Live Election Night Results," accessed May 10, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Herald-Dispatch, "Austin Sanders: Early education crucial to Cabell students' success," April 20, 2016
| 2016 Cabell County Schools Elections | |
| Cabell County, West Virginia | |
| Election date: | May 10, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Garland "Skip" Parsons • Scott Caserta • Denis Chapman • Gordon Ramey II • Austin Sanders |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
