BY CRAIG SHULTZ
Bill Sanborn, a member of the Hemet school board for almost 22 years, has resigned his seat effective July 1. Sanborn, an Idyllwild resident who represents his hometown as well as Mountain Center and Pine Cove, will be moving with his family to Grand Rapids, Minn., he said by phone Friday, May 3. His youngest son, Alex, is graduating from Hemet High this month and will play football at Northwestern University in St. Paul, Minn. Another son, Ben, who has Down syndrome, will turn 22 and will no longer be eligible for services provided by the district. “This is just the time,” Sanborn said, adding that the move has been in the works for awhile. Sanborn is from Minnesota and he and wife Andrea lived there early in their marriage. Sanborn, 55, was appointed to the Hemet Unified School District Governing Board in 1991, and has served continuously since then, having been elected five times. He served as board president four times, most recently last year. He is a self-employed engineer and said he plans to cut back on his workload. Sanborn said he is staying on the board through the end of the fiscal year. He did not want to leave while next year’s budget is being formulated and negotiations with teachers are expected to start, he said. Sanborn’s term expires in 2014. The school board will discuss how to fill his position when it meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 7, at the district headquarters. Trustees have the option of calling an election or making an appointment to fill the vacancy. Most boards opt for the appointment, saving the cost of an election. Sanborn said he will miss serving on the school board. “It’s going to be a little strange to have every other Tuesday off,” he said. “It’s bittersweet. I’m really going to miss it.” In his resignation letter, Sanborn wrote that it has been an honor to represent the mountain communities. “The highest honor has been the opportunity to shake hands with over 20,000 young men and women as they received their diploma,” he wrote. “Their joyful faces form a grand mosaic in my mind.” Follow Craig Shultz on Twitter @PE_CraigShultz and online at blog. pe.com/hemet