School board seats open in April election

Those seeking to run for a seat on a local school board have begun circulating nomination papers for the April election.

At Sparta Area School District, Pat McKenna and Marla Leverich have taken out papers for two of four open seats as of Wednesday.

The top two vote-getters will win three-year terms. The bottom two will serve out the balance of the terms of Nancy Sikorsky, who resigned in October, and Eric Solberg, who resigned in September. Both seats will be up for re-election in one year.

Sikorsky and Solberg were targets of a recall effort started by a citizens group unhappy about the school board reinstating a face mask mandate on Sept. 8

McKenna applied for both Sikorsky’s and Solberg’s seat, but the board appointed former superintendent John Hendricks to Solberg’s seat, while Sparta business owner Anthony Scholze was appointed to Sikorsky’s seat.

In Tomah, only one candidate has expressed interest in running for the school board. And his name is familiar. Wayne Kling has filed to run for one of the two seats that will be open when the terms for incumbents Pam Buchda and Gary Grovesteen expire in April. Neither have expressed their intent either way at this time.

In Bangor, two seats are opening up: one for a member from the south and one at-large. Neither Michele Piske, who is the member from the south, nor Joanie Wilcox, the at-large member, have yet taken out papers.

Candidates have until Jan. 4 to pick up papers from their school district offices.