VIDEO: Effingham Unit 40 School Board Candidate Forum

Tuesday night, the auditorium at Effingham Jr. High School served at host for the first of two candidate forums, sponsored by the Effingham Chamber of Commerce, ahead of the Tuesday, April 7 election.

Those running to fill seats on the Effingham Unit 40 school board participated in a forum moderated by Bob Schultz, with questions provided by a panel of local media including our Greg Sapp, station manager of WXEF & WKJT, Herb Meeker with the Effingham/Teutopolis News Report, Tom Jamison of WCRC/WCRA and Jeff Long representing the Effingham Daily News.

Candidates include incumbents Carol Ruffner, Jeff Michael and Todd Schaefer, as well as Peggy Campbell, Patty Russell, Jane Willenborg and Kathleen Smith. Candidate Matthew Jones was ill and unable to attend. There are four seats on the Board to be filled; long-time incumbent Delbert Soltwedel is not seeking re-election.

Below is video of the forum in it's entirety. If you're unable to see the video on your device, watch it here on our You Tube Channel.

A reminder that a similar forum will be held next Tuesday, March 31, at 6pm at Effingham Junior High School and sponsored by the Effingham County Chamber of Commerce. We'll air the forum live on 979XFM and have additional coverage online.

Admission to both forums is free and the public is encouraged to attend.