Vice President of the Lake Central School Board Sandy Lessentine recently announced her resignation at the school board meeting on Monday, March 1. Lessentine has represented the Town of Schererville on the board for the past six years and has introduced many positive contributions during that time.
“I think I've brought a different way of looking at things to people because many people see things in their own purview. They can’t always see things from other people's viewpoints, and I think I've done a good job of opening up people's eyes to saying, ‘It's okay to agree to disagree,” said Lessentine.
Lessentine works as a math teacher and tutoring specialist during the day at Homewood-Flossmoor High School in Illinois. She explained how the experience of being immersed in the world of education first-hand impacted her perspective while serving on the school board.
“I think sometimes when you have members of the board that have never worked in education, they really don't know what is possible. I think having people in education on the board helps because then, while it's a completely different side of education on the board, it's all policies and procedures. It also helps to know what is truly possible and what can and can’t be accomplished,” said Lessentine.
Lessentine did not share her decision to resign with anyone prior to announcing it publicly at the board meeting. Her decision came as a shock to everyone, including her close friends and family.
“I just felt that if I mentioned it to anyone else, or anyone else caught a whiff of it, it might become something that it wasn't. I didn't want people making up my story. It's my story to tell. If I don't say anything, nothing gets misconstrued,” she said.
“Along with that, I didn't want anyone to talk me out of it. I knew people were going to try to talk me out of it. This is one of the hardest decisions I've made in my life,” said Lessentine.
Lessentine decided to resign due to personal spiritual reasons. She will be utilizing this newfound free time to serve in larger capacities.
“I am a very spiritual person, and I believe that God calls you in ways and at times that you're not always sure if it's your time, but I just have to trust that because he's ordering my steps, that's the direction I need to go. I feel that I have signs all the time around me that tell me what I should be doing, where I should be going, and I just started getting signs that he wants me to serve in a larger capacity,” said Lessentine.
Although being on the school board serving a tri-town community and over 10,000 students and staff members is a large capacity, Lessentine will serve the community in other ways. She will begin some new projects and expand upon some current projects, such as her podcasts.
“My best friend and I started a ‘Little Blessings’ podcast two years ago, and a ‘Little Blessings’ page to bring people some joy and some peace and to let them know that even during your worst days, God will provide little blessings if you just open your eyes and look for them. In that time from doing those podcasts, our followers have grown. We've got over 2,100 followers,” said Lessentine.
Lessentine and her friend recently started a second podcast called “The Formula.” They are continuing their podcast journey by adding another podcast and visuals into the mix, and they are currently working on creating a studio space to film.
“God put on our heart that we needed to take another step. And we started another podcast called ‘The Formula.’ ‘The Formula’ is the five F’s on how to live a great life: focus, fellowship, faith, fitness and finance. We found that God kept bringing those things to us each time,” said Lessentine.
Along with the podcasts, Lessentine also serving her community by working with homeless students to provide them with extracurricular activities, and officiating weddings. Her goal is to bring “peace, joy, love, and God’s word” to other people.
“I had to start clearing things off of my extracurricular schedule because I want to focus on this. This is the direction I want to go,” said Lessentine.
As Lessentine moves to serve the community in other capacities, she still has a positive outlook regarding what is happening next for the school board. She believes that this was the right decision for her, and it will turn into the right decision for someone else as well.
“As hard as it was, I feel that I am in a very good place, and that there's going to be a really good person who's going to step up. When God finally laid on my heart that someone good was going to fill my position and continue the good work with this board; I finally had that peace,” said Lessentine.
What Happens Next?
Sandy Lessentine submitted her dated resignation on March 2, 2021, after publicly announcing her resignation at the school board meeting on March 1, 2021. The March 1 meeting was Mrs. Lessentine’s final time sitting behind the blue table. School Board President Cindy Sues then explained some of the things that must happen in order to fill the vacant seat.
“The effective date of the resignation is important because, by statute, the remaining board members have 30 days to appoint a qualified individual to serve the remainder of Mrs. Lessentine's term. Should the board fail to act, or if a tie vote occurs in the process that is not cured prior to the end of the 30-day period, then the Lake County Circuit Court Judge will make the appointment of the replacement,” said Sues.
The vacancy is being advertised on the Lake Central School Corporation website, as well as through social media, and by word of mouth. In order to qualify for the position, the replacement must meet the requirements for regularly elected board members: at least 21 years of age, and residing in the residential district, which is Schererville.
“Community members interested in filling the seat should go to https://lcsc.us/ and choose the open school board position link for information. The board will then interview the potential candidate(s) at a future open public meeting, if necessary,” said Sues.