Josh Lydon resigns from Sparta School Board

At the beginning of the Sparta School Board meeting Tuesday evening, the board had to elect a president. A nomination was made for Anthony Scholze and another was made for Josh Lydon. Lydon rejected the nomination, which was later found out to have good reason. Scholze was elected the new president of the Sparta School Board.

Before the very end of the meeting, Lydon started a visibly and audibly emotional resignation speech. He said, “Being on this board has taken a toll on me mentally and physically and is now affecting my family life. I said when I started on this board, if this starts to affect my family, I need to stop. We’re at that point now. We’ve seen a divide on a National and State level of politics, and now it’s in local politics.” Lydon went on to say, “I’ve received death threats and been attacked and I can’t go on like this anymore. This is my official resignation to the Sparta School Board.”

Lydon also stated there will not be any further comment on this matter to the media or public. Lydon was elected to the board in April of 2021, his term expires April of 2024. The Sparta Area School District will look to fill the seat by posting the opening for 2 weeks, interviewing applicants, and then choosing one. Which is much like the process last Fall when Scholze and John Hendricks were brought on to fill open seats on the board.