Board of Directors
John Cook
President
Committee Assignment: Executive Committee, Academic Excellence Committee, Policy and Governance Committee, School Land Trust Committee
John holds a bachelor's degree in Quantitative Analysis of Markets and Organizations and a master's in Information Systems from the University of Utah. He launched his career in the startup and tech sector, gaining valuable experience as a data analyst. John then served as an institutional research analyst at Western Governors University, contributing to process improvements for compliance and accreditation, enhancing the efficiency of mandatory reporting. Currently, John leads a team of business analysts on the product development team at Extra Space Storage, ensuring the delivery of features and functional solutions that contribute to the organization's success. Drawing from his experience as a tutor and mentor in programs like AVID and GearUP, focused on long-term postsecondary educational success, John hopes to make valuable contributions to the success of Legacy Prep.
Term Ends: June 30, 2027
Lara Murphy
Vice President
Committee Assignment: Executive Committee, Academic Excellence Committee, School Safety Committee, School Land Trust Committee
Lara is a Senior Program Manager at L3Harris Technology managing multimillion-dollar contracts with the United States Government. Lara holds a Bachelors in International Business and French from UNLV. Lara has enjoyed participating in the LPA Builders where she has been involved highly in field day, Fall festival, and other activities.Lara is excited to bring her skills to the board to help make LPA even better. Lara has three boys, in which two go to LPA and the third is a future Lion.
Term Ends: June 30, 2028
Alisha Johnson
Treasurer
Committee Assignment: Audit and Finance Committee, Communications Committee, School Land Trust Committee
Alisha Johnson works for the Utah State Courts finance department. She received her BA in Marketing and Economics and her MBA from Westminster College. She is a lifelong Utahan and is passionate about the Utah economy and the education of its most valuable assets-- our children. Alisha served as Chair of the Legacy Preparatory Academy Community Council in her first year as a Legacy Prep parent and was President of the Legacy Preparatory Academy Governing Board during the 2016 - 2017 school year. As a Governing Board member, she wishes to utilize her experience to further increase Legacy Prep's standing as an excellent Utah charter school.
Term Ends: June 30, 2026
Aimee Hinojosa
Secretary
Committee Assignment: Academic Excellence Committee, Communications Committee, School Land Trust Committee
Aimee Hinojosa works as a personal lines insurance agent and helps manage an auto repair business that her husband owns and operates. Born and raised in Bountiful, she has strong ties to the area and likes giving back to the community. In the past she worked as an education coordinator for an arts and crafts program, traveled to Europe and performed with the Utah Ambassadors of Music and was part of her college show choir. Both she and her children love the focus on fine arts at LPA. She has four children, 2 boys and 2 girls, who will all be attending LPA this school year and Aimee looks forward to serving on the board and giving back to the LPA community.
Term Ends: June 30, 2026
David Ray
Member
Committee Assignment: Policy and Governance Committee, Audit & Finance Committee, School Land Trust Committee
David Ray is an accomplished and results-driven Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Tanner Clinic, with extensive experience in healthcare operations. He excels in overseeing financial, operational, and medical support processes to ensure optimal efficiency and excellence. David is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) and holds a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University and an MBA from the University of Utah. In his personal life, David finds inspiration from his loving wife and five children, enjoying outdoor activities, mentoring, and volunteering to make a positive impact on others' lives.
Term Ends: June 30, 2026
Lee Petersen
Member
Committee Assignment: School Safety Committee, Communications Committee, School Land Trust Committee
Lee's first introduction to Legacy Prep was when his wife Ashley worked there as an instructor the year they were married. Lee has a Master's degree from the University of Utah in Civil Engineering (including Structural Engineering and Project Management emphasis). He has worked as an engineer, project controller, and currently works as an adjunct professor in the construction/civil engineering department at the University of Utah along with also being a division project controls manager at BHI.
Term Ends: June 30, 2027
Sandy McCleve
Member
Committee Assignment: Audit and Finance Committee, School Land Trust Committee
Sandy was born in Mesa, Arizona. He graduated from LDS Business College with an AS-Business and then transferred to BYU-Idaho where he finished up his BS-Business Management. During his education, Sandy worked full-time for a local CPA firm and took care of his wife who was battling cancer for the second time. His career progressed into the field of real estate, where he has gained years of experience in acquisitions, dispositions, development, leasing, financing, and asset management.
Today, Sandy is the Broker/Owner of McCleve Real Estate, LLC and the Managing Director of Advantage Healthcare Consulting, LLC. Additionally, Sandy serves as the board treasurer for two non-profit groups. He is the father to two sets of twins. When he is not working with clients, he enjoys spending time with his wife and children, snow skiing, golfing, coaching baseball, and wake surfing.
Term Ends: June 30, 2026
Board Meeting Schedule
2025/2026 Board Meeting Schedule
DATE | TIME |
August 21, 2025 | 7:00 p.m. |
October 23, 2025 | 7:00 p.m. |
January 15, 2026 | 7:00 p.m. |
March 12, 2026 | 7:00 p.m. |
May 21, 2026 | 7:00 p.m. |
June 18, 2026 | 7:00 p.m. |
This is a tentative schedule. Meeting dates and times are subject to change.
Board Meetings may be held in the Junior High (District Offices) Building 2 Board Room, or at different locations as specified.
Junior High (District Offices) – _Building 2
1228 West 2185 South
Woods Cross, Utah 84087
Legacy Preparatory Academy follows the Utah Open Meetings Act and all meetings are open to the public. Meeting information is posted at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance on the Utah Public Meeting Notice, along with previous meeting minutes and recordings. Board Meetings attendees can join virtually here.
Board Committees
Academic Excellence Committee
The Academic Excellence Committee is responsible for overseeing the best practices to provide an improved academic system for the present and future students at LPA.
Communications Committee
The Communications Committee is responsible for keeping good relationships between the organization and all stakeholders. The committee is responsible for overseeing the school's public image, and marketing efforts, and using different outreach options to keep stakeholders informed about the school.
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee has special responsibilities and authorities above all committees. The Executive Committee, as directed by the full board, may act on behalf of the Board. The committee’s main purpose is to facilitate decision-making between board meetings or in urgent and crisis circumstances.
Finance/Audit Committee
The Finance and Audit Committee is responsible for ensuring the school establishes a thorough risk management process and effective internal controls.
Policy and Governance Committee
The Policy and Governance Committee has two responsibilities; first, the committee helps to guide school administration on policies that will guide the school to ensure ethical and legal compliance. Second, the committee works to ensure all stakeholders understand their roles and responsibilities and that there is an established process for holding individuals accountable for their obligations. The governance committee is also responsible for finding, recruiting, and screening potential new board members.
School Safety Committee
The School Safety Committee is responsible for informing and educating stakeholders and health and safety issues, new standards, research findings, etc. The committee will help to reduce to risk of injuries, illnesses, etc. by performing annual threat assessments and ensuring compliance with all state and federal health and safety standards.
Financial Oversight
In accordance with Utah Code Ann. Section 53G-7-309, the governing board receives a budget report each month. This budget report includes the following information: (i) the amounts of all budget appropriations; (ii) the disbursements from the appropriations as of the date of the report; and (iii) the percentage of the disbursements as of the date of the report. The current Budget Report is available for public review and previous reports are available by request to bevans@legacyprep.org.
Stakeholders of Legacy Preparatory Academy may report concerns of fraud, waste, abuse, or non-compliance directly to the School’s administration or board. Alternatively, stakeholders may report such concerns directly to the Utah State Board of Education through their Public Education Hotline at (801) 538-7813. Full contact information can be found here for the Public Education Hotline.
The Governing Board oversees the financial health of Legacy Preparatory Academy. The Board has an Audit Committee comprised of the board president and the board financial coordinator. All budgets are approved by the Governing Board and published on the website of the Utah Office of the State Auditor.