Long-time Brooklet resident Mike Sparks said his experience in the Bulloch County education system gives him a solid understanding of how to improve education.
      “With a child in high school and three grandchildren preparing to go to school, I am committed to making our school system even better,” Sparks said. “What's more, I believe my thirty years of experience in education makes me a perfect candidate to sit on the Board of Education.”
      Sparks was at Southeast Bulloch High School for 25 of his 30 years as an educator, from 1974 to 1999. While at SEB, he taught social studies, health/physical education and Physical Sciences teacher, as well as an athletic coach.
      Coach Sparks also served as athletic director at SEB from 1988-1990. When he left SEB, he worked as a teacher, as well as the assistant and then athletic director, at SEB Middle School until he retired from the Bulloch County school system in 2004.
      Sparks is an ordained deacon at Trinity Baptist Church in Nevils and currently serves as director of the Ogeechee River Baptist Association's W. W. Mann Retreat and Conference Center in Brooklet. The son of G.C. and Betty Sparks, Coach Sparks and his wife Kathryn have three children: Stephen, Hillary and Andrew.
      He also has three grandchildren: Chet, Kaelyn and Brooks.
      Sparks said that “Since I retired in 2004, I have tried to stay involved in the schools as much as I could.”
      As to his ideas for the future of public education in Bulloch County, Sparks said, “I am a firm believer and supporter of community schools. I believe each community school should have their own goals, strategies and direction, as each school within the system is unique.”
      Not a professional politician, Coach Sparks said that “I am not one to make promises before thoroughly looking at all sides of an issue.”
      He added, “My father taught me to be fair and honest in all my dealings, and to stand up for your beliefs even when others choose to disagree.”