South Cook News

Candidate Rod Soderlund recently won a seat on the Sparta School Board and said he's ready to get started.

Soderlund was one of four individuals to win four-year terms on the Sparta School Board following the results of the April 4 election. According to WSIU News, other candidates that won four-year terms are Angela Craig, Heather Price and Jennifer Morgan. Ryan Pillers won a two-year unexpired term. 

"I'm ready to get started, working on a lot of the things the board has already been doing a fine job on," Soderlund said in an interview with South Cook News. "At the top of my agenda list will be to continue the work the current board has been doing in getting us out of the red. Next up will be starting the search for a new superintendent. I want to learn the ropes as quickly as I can so that we can make sure we’re doing best job we can for our students."  

Throughout his campaign, Soderlund highlighted that he felt making a run for the school board and giving back to the community are part of his civic duty, adding, "I'm from the district, went to school here, and have been a coach here. I know the people and feel we'd be able to work well together."

"I'm glad things turned out the way they did," he said. "I'm really ready to get to work."

Soderlund said he has two kids who graduated from the district and 12-year-old twins that now attend, adding, "My kids are a big factor in my run, but at the end of the day, I just want what's best for all the kids. My biggest concern is the curriculum coming from the state board. I don't like some of the things they're trying to push on the kids and I want to be a voice for parents."

On its website, Sparta District 140 states its vision as being "empowerment through education," while its mission is "to create a culture of pride where students accept responsibility to fuel transformation and promote success."