CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – An 18-year-old man who graduated high school this year was elected to the L’Anse Creuse school board in Clinton Township.
Shane Sellers said there was a disconnect between the school board and what was really going on inside classrooms. One of the main reasons he ran for a seat was COVID-19.
When day broke on Nov. 4, many election races were still undecided. But two members of the L’Anse Creuse school board won their races, and Sellers was one of them.
Last year, Sellers was heading off for his first day of his senior year at L’anse Creuse High North. He graduated this year.
Now, he’s one of seven people running the districts. He had plans to attend Central Michigan University, but this changed those plans.
“I chose to stay home,” Sellers said. “I want to make sure the concerns I had as a student are solved.”
He filed to run, built a campaign and plastered his name anywhere he could. On Election Day, Sellers and his family worked the polls from open to close.
“My grandmother said she was sorry she couldn’t work,” Sellers said.
The next morning, he won by nearly 1,400 votes. Sellers said he wants to bring change, especially with the district’s virtual learning platform.
“The one they have now doesn’t follow the curriculum that in-person students (have),” Sellers said. “So when virtual students come back, (they) will be on a different learning curve than in-person students.”
Being only 18, there is some concern he won’t be taken seriously at the board level.
“I’m here for six years,” Sellers said. “They better learn really quick that my vote counts the same as theirs.”
On his to-do list: Tackle virtual learning, work on the budget, make a school of choice decision and try to solve parents' issues before they become problems.
“If there’s a concern, solve it before they have to come and speak before us,” Sellers said.
Due to COVID-19 and delayed graduations, Sellers didn’t get to walk across the stage for his diploma until August. He filed to run for a school board seat two months earlier, in June.