The VOTE4 team of four school board candidates includes Amy Lopez, Pat McKenna, Marla Leverich, and Jason Perry. The VOTE4 candidates decided to team up together because they share the same philosophy in 4 key areas. They realize they need to work together in order to change the direction of the school board to improve the education and administration of students in the Sparta Area School District.

If elected, the VOTE4 team will fight for:
Parents’ Rights and Public Input
Listen to parents, teachers and the community and promptly address concerns with the goal of achieving academic excellence.

Responsible Spending
Prioritize the budget to eliminate wasteful spending (on non-academic or administrative costs) and divert dollars directly to classrooms for students and teachers.

Common-Sense Decision-Making
Make common sense decisions for our school district with regard to administration and policies, health orders, spending, and curriculum.

District Leadership that Represents YOU
Take back the leadership of this district to represent YOU.
While we agree on the 4 key areas, each team member has individual strengths and ideas to improve the district.

Learn about the candidates:

Pat McKenna
I have lived in Sparta my entire life. My wife, Jodie and I, and two children graduated from Sparta High School. We have two grandchildren currently enrolled. I am running for the school board because while I am proud of our community, I am concerned about the declining enrollment and what that means for Sparta's future financially and for the future education for all of our children. Working for the past 25 years in sales, marketing and finance has afforded me many opportunities to see how, and contribute to, elite organizations set themselves up for success. For almost two years, political posturing or fear of some board members has resulted in students being forced to go to school virtually, then mask, then unmask, then mask again. Every time this topic has been approached it has caused a division in our community and has wasted time that could have been used to develop a long term strategy, or better yet, focus on programs that would prepare our students for life after the Sparta Area School District. I believe Sparta can and will be an elite district known for its education, employees, and most importantly, its students.

Jason Perry
My wife. Lesa, and I have been residents of Sparta for 27 years. We have raised three wonderful daughters who have all graduated from Sparta High School.

I am often asked, “Why do you want to run for school board? Your kids have graduated.” The plain and simple answer is: I CARE!

We’re still involved in the development of the children in the district. We’re proud grandparents, and Lesa owns and operates an in-home, state licensed daycare. When I get home from work, I have the chance to see some of the bright, young minds my wife is helping to develop…. who have a twinkle in their eye, that mischievous look, the laughter etc. I have watched these children develop from babies at our house into young men and women, getting married, and having children of their own.

I CARE! In Sparta and with all that is going on in the world, we have problems in our school district. We have a one-sided board with a majority that went from wanting no public input for the decisions that were being made for the families’ children to then wanting input. But, when that input was given, all that was ever said was, “Thank you.” If you attended any board meetings, you could clearly see that the majority already had their minds made up and any public input was never weighed into their final decisions.

I CARE! We need a balanced board that takes the time to ask questions about what is proposed rather than just voting ‘yes or no’ when, in fact, questions need to be raised. Answers need to be obtained. And I assure you, I will ask those questions and get those answers in order to make the most well-informed decisions, all while keeping your input in mind.

WE CARE! And this is why I am running with three other people. We are all concerned. We are passionate about our community. We all are not the same and do not agree on all things. However, we all have one common goal which is to make Sparta a place where families want to live, raise their children, and send them to our schools. We want Sparta to be a place where our teachers want to stay for their entire careers and know that their input is valuable as it affects the growth of our children. We want to listen to the community. This is about all our children and our wallets.

That is why I ask you to VOTE4 in the primary on February 15th and in the Spring Election on April 5th.
Lopez, Mckenna, Leverich, and Perry: WE CARE about you and your children’s education.

Marla Leverich
My husband, Jim, and I live on our family farm and raised four Spartan graduates. I earned a business degree from the University of Illinois and started my career in banking. While raising my family, I obtained my master's degree in education and taught Math and English at Sparta Meadowview Middle School for 16 years.

As a former teacher, I have kids and their education as my #1 priority. I love the idea of getting kids involved by debating issues and sharing perspectives with others in the classroom. School should be a place where kids can challenge ideas and discuss them. We need to re-focus our attention as school board members on the educational policies and needs of the students and the teachers to give our students the best educational experience they deserve. Our test scores are low, but I know we have great teachers in this school district. They are willing to go the extra mile for the kids and want all students to succeed.

I would love to be done with all these protocols and politics which are taking attention away from the most important thing: letting the teachers teach and allowing kids to learn. There are so many creative and dynamic ways of teaching that make learning interactive and fun for the kids and we want to help bring that back to the classrooms. Our kids have already suffered enough in the last 2 years. Plus, we need to get back to the basics and focus on reading, writing, math, and science using best educational practices. That is what our team will work to bring about.

With a $40 million budget, we should also be able to pay our teachers and aides well AND give our kids a strong education. I would love to dive into the budget and cut wasteful spending. Sparta taxpayers cannot afford a tax increase, especially with prices going up in all sectors of our economy. The current referendum will certainly have an impact on our taxes, despite the fact that the mill rate is not changing. I just cannot support it right now, but I’d be willing to re-visit it in the future.

We also need a board who will listen to our parents and the community. Parents know their children and want what’s best for them. We should not cut their voices out of the process which develops educational policies that affect their kids. We all want to work with parents, not against them. The VOTE4 team of Amy Lopez, Jason Perry, Pat McKenna and myself are on the same side as parents: doing what’s best for kids.

We would love to have your vote to change the leadership and bring more voices like yours to the forefront.

Amy Lopez
My husband, Steven, and I have been Sparta residents for 18 years. We are owners of a local business, members of St. Patrick parish, and parents of eight children, four Sparta High School graduates and one current senior.

I am running for the school board to advocate for all voices in the community that have been muted and to implement positive changes based on the insight received from the very people who elect me to serve.

Nearly every issue in the district links back to a lack of true transparency. As a member of the board, I will advocate for transparency and encourage public involvement in the areas of budget, curriculum, policy, enrollment, academic success, parental authority, and employee satisfaction and retention. “Our community has gained unique insight into the inner workings of the district over the past two years. Simply put, parents have lost confidence in leadership. Teachers are feeling both overwhelmed and undervalued. The result is students and staff leaving the district in record numbers. The VOTE4 candidates look forward to listening to diverse viewpoints, delving into the issues at hand, and creating common sense policies and goals that will not only foster trust with parents, but will also bridge the gap with teachers so that all parties have a voice. Students, in turn, will regain their love for learning,” says Amy Lopez.