Superintendent Sparlin announces retirement at Jan. 9 meeting

School District 308 Superintendent Dr. John Sparlin announced in a Board of Education meeting on Jan. 9 that he will retire from his position at the end of the current school year. This announcement brings an end to his 11 years at OHS, seven of which he was superintendent, and starts the search for a replacement.

The president of the board of education explained in an official statement that “students, staff, parents and our extended community will have opportunities to provide input and be involved in the search for our next Superintendent.” This input can be provided during the next board meeting on Jan. 23.

When asked about his decision in an interview with 42Fifty over the phone, Dr. Sparlin explained that he holds his family as his first priority.

“I’ve always believed in servant leadership, which really translates to putting others before yourself and your own family, and I’ve been in that station for over thirty years, so quite a long time, and so my decision to retire from the superintendent position was really based on that and making my family my priority moving forward,” Sparlin says.

Dr. Sparlin emphasized his love and respect for school district 308, which he spent over a third of his career in.

“It was a very hard decision to step away from [my position],” Sparlin says.

When asked about what core values he would like to see thrive in the district, he elaborated on how fortunate he felt to work in a community that serves as a place where people can lift each other up.

“We all have the same goal, and if we can come together and work together and all do a little bit, it adds up to a lot,” Sparlin says. “That would be a strength of our community here that I hope to see continue to grow and flourish.”

In his 11 years of commitment to SD308, he was an important member to the community, and became a prominent and effective leader of the district.

Sparlin’s first position for SD308 was the executive director for administrative services when he joined in 2012. He was then promoted to assistant superintendent for administrative services in 2013. He then became the superintendent in 2016 and has since held the position.

Prior to his time at SD308, Sparlin worked at several different school districts with different positions.

He began his educational career as a teacher and coach for the Valley View School District 365U and later moved to the Glenbard School District 87 where he continued to teach and coach.

Sparlin then served as assistant principal of curriculum and instruction at Bolingbrook High School, followed by principal positions at Humphrey Middle School and Romeoville High School.

He later became the executive director of human resources for J. Sterling Morton High School District 201.