FREMONT — Irvington High School is in the lead for the title of "America's Favorite School," with one week left in the online competition.

In addition to bragging rights, the school that nabs the most votes will win $20,000. The next four schools will win $1,000 to $5,000.

"Twenty thousand dollars is probably a quarter to one-third of the total that I get to run the school with," Principal Pete Murchison said.

As of late Friday, the Fremont campus led the field with 5,775 votes — 1,385 votes more than the next school. But students and staff at Irvington said they are not taking anything for granted and are continuing to encourage the community to vote.

Three of the top five campuses in the running are large schools in New York, where there are potentially millions of voters, they said.

"We all know that New York's education budget is in a much better situation than (ours)," Alex Wang, a junior at Irvington, said at a recent school board meeting. He entered his school in the competition.

In addition to the school winning $20,000, the top 20 people who recruit the most "friends" to vote will win a $50 Target gift certificate. Clint Johns, a teacher at Irvington, was in second place Friday.

Individuals may cast a ballot only once. Voters are asked provide a brief explanation why a particular school is his or her favorite campus.

The eight-week contest is sponsored by Care2 and GreatSchools. Care2 is

If Irvington is named America's Favorite School, it would not be the first time the campus has won a major online competition.

Last spring, it was named America's Greenest School and received a $200,000 hybrid school bus.

To vote for a school, log on to www.care2.com/schoolcontest.