Your monthly support provides voters the knowledge they need to make confident decisions at the polls. Donate today.

Akron-Fairgrove Schools, Michigan, elections

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search

Akron-Fairgrove Schools
School Board badge.png
District details
School board members: 7
Students: 347 (2023-2024)
Schools: 3 (2023-2024)
Website: Link

Akron-Fairgrove Schools is a school district in Michigan (Tuscola County). During the 2024 school year, 347 students attended one of the district's three schools.

This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.

Jump to a section:
Elections School board Location Budget Academic performance Students Staff Schools

Elections

Do you know of an individual or group that endorsed a candidate for a position on this board? Click here to let us know.

Per our coverage scope, Ballotpedia does not provide election results for this particular race. Check your city or county government's election website for vote totals.

Akron-Fairgrove Schools, At-large

General election

General election for Akron-Fairgrove Schools, At-large (3 seats)

Terry Coleman, Galen D. Smith, Alex Vaiopoulos, and Tom Wassa ran in the general election for Akron-Fairgrove Schools, At-large on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Terry Coleman (Nonpartisan)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Galen D. Smith (Nonpartisan)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Alex Vaiopoulos (Nonpartisan)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Tom Wassa (Nonpartisan)

There are no incumbents in this race.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Election rules

 

Election dates and frequency

See also: Rules governing school board election dates and timing

School board general elections in Michigan are held on the first Tuesday after the First Monday in November every two years in even-numbered years.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Michigan Statute Section 380.384

Recent or upcoming election dates for all local school districts in the state

Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all local school districts in the state. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.

  • Filing deadline date: July 21, 2026
  • General election date: November 3, 2026

Election system

School board members in Michigan are elected through nonpartisan general elections without primaries.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Michigan Statute Section 380.384

Party labels on the ballot

See also: Rules governing party labels in school board elections

School board elections in Michigan are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Michigan Election Law on school board candidate nominating petitions states, "(2)The nominating petition must be substantially in the form prescribed in section 544c, except that the petition must be nonpartisan." It also states, "At any regular election, the names of the several nonpartisan offices to be voted for shall be placed on a separate portion of the ballot containing no party designation in the following order: [...], and in a year in which an election for the office is held, local school district board member, metropolitan district officer, and district library board member."

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Michigan Statute Section 168.303 and Section 168.699

Winning an election

The candidate or candidates that receive the most votes in the nonpartisan general election are elected to office.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Michigan Statute Section 168.307

Term length and staggering

All school districts other community school districts in Michigan have board member terms of either four or six years depending on the board by-laws. As of 2022, 60% of school districts in Michigan had six-year board member terms, and 40% -- including community school districts -- had four-year board member terms.

Community school districts in Michigan have four-year board member terms. Initial terms for the first board members of newly organized community school districts are two, four, or six years to stagger elections.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Michigan Statute Section 380.11a and Michigan Statute Section 380.384

For community school districts in Michigan, as close to half of school board members as possible for each district are elected every two years, which means either three or four seats are up for election at each even-year election. At the first board member election after community school districts are first organized, all seven board member seats are elected. Two members are elected to two-year terms, three members are elected to four-year terms, and two members are elected to six-year terms, with higher vote totals dictating longer initial terms. After initial terms, all board members have four-year terms, which results in staggered elections: four seats up in one election and three seats up in the next election.

Michigan statute requires that at least one board member must be elected every two years at each regular even-year election. Specific seat staggering details for school districts other than community school districts are determined at the local level by the district board's bylaws. Most districts with four-year board member terms elect as close to half of board members as possible every two years. Most districts with six-year board member terms elect as close to one-third of board members as possible every two years.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Michigan Statute Section 380.384 and Michigan Statute Section 168.301

Representation: at large vs. by sub-district

School board members in Michigan are elected at large by all voters in the district.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Michigan Statute Section 168.303, Section 168.307, and Section 380.384 (3)

Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates

School board candidates must file affidavits and nomination petitions or candidate filing fees by 4 p.m. on the 15th Tuesday before the November election. This means that the school board candidate filing deadline is in late July every even-numbered year.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Michigan Statute Section 168.303


Newly elected school board members in Michigan officially take office on January 1 of the year following the election.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Michigan Statute Section 380.384 and Section 168.302

 


About the district

School board

Akron-Fairgrove Schools consists of seven members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameYear assumed officeYear term ends
Terry Coleman2028
Calvin Kosik2028
Galen Smith2028
Tom Wassa20252028
Jennifer Ronk2026
Jennifer Schmitt2026
Mike Turner2026

Join the conversation about school board politics

Ballotpedia's Hall Pass

Your Ticket to Understanding School Board Politics



  • Unlock the full dataset for your own use cases — explore subscription options to our comprehensive list of all school board members in the country.
    Unlock the full dataset for your own use cases — explore subscription options to our comprehensive list of all school board members in the country.
    Read more


District map

School district map

Overlapping state house districts

Akron-Fairgrove Schools
Office NameCurrent OfficeholderParty% School District Covered% Other District Covered
Michigan House of Representatives District 97Matthew BierleinRepublican Party 100% 10%

The table was limited to the lower chamber because it provides the most granularity. State house districts tend to be more numerous and therefore smaller than state senate or U.S. House districts. This provides an impression of the partisan affiliations in the area.

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[1]

Revenue, 2021-2022
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $1,386,000 $4,029 22%
Local: $2,386,000 $6,936 38%
State: $2,595,000 $7,544 41%
Total: $6,367,000 $18,509
Expenditures, 2021-2022
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $8,276,000 $24,058
Total Current Expenditures: $4,813,000 $13,991
Instructional Expenditures: $2,632,000 $7,651 32%
Student and Staff Support: $591,000 $1,718 7%
Administration: $756,000 $2,197 9%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $834,000 $2,424 10%
Total Capital Outlay: $2,883,000 $8,380
Construction: $2,683,000 $7,799
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $4,000 $11
Interest on Debt: $336,000 $976

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[2]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 20-24 PS <50 PS 25-29
2018-2019 35-39 PS <50 >=50 35-39
2017-2018 25-29 PS <50 >=50 25-29
2016-2017 40-44 PS PS <50 PS PS 40-44
2015-2016 30-34 PS <50 PS PS 30-34
2014-2015 30-34 PS <50 PS PS 25-29
2013-2014 25-29 <50 PS PS 30-34
2012-2013 30-34 <50 PS PS 30-34
2011-2012 30-34 <50 PS PS 30-34
2010-2011 75-79 >=50 PS PS 75-79

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 35-39 PS <50 PS 35-39
2018-2019 35-39 PS <50 <50 35-39
2017-2018 35-39 PS <50 >=50 30-34
2016-2017 55-59 PS PS >=50 PS PS 55-59
2015-2016 35-39 PS <50 PS PS 35-39
2014-2015 40-44 PS >=50 PS PS 40-44
2013-2014 55-59 <50 PS PS 55-59
2012-2013 55-59 <50 PS PS 60-64
2011-2012 50-54 <50 PS PS 55-59
2010-2011 80-84 60-79 PS PS 80-84

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2019-2020 60-79 60-79
2018-2019 >=80 >=80
2017-2018 >=80 PS PS PS >=80
2016-2017 >=80 PS >=80
2015-2016 >=80 PS PS >=80
2014-2015 40-59 PS 40-59
2013-2014 >=80 PS >=80
2012-2013 60-79 PS 60-79
2011-2012 60-79 PS 60-79
2010-2011 80-89 PS 80-89

Students

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2023-2024 347 2.0
2022-2023 340 -1.2
2021-2022 344 1.2
2020-2021 340 6.2
2019-2020 319 2.2
2018-2019 312 7.4
2017-2018 289 3.8
2016-2017 278 -1.4
2015-2016 282 -1.1
2014-2015 285 0.0
2013-2014 285 2.8
2012-2013 277 1.1
2011-2012 274 -13.1
2010-2011 310 -4.8
2009-2010 325 -6.5
2008-2009 346 0.0
2007-2008 346 -6.9
2006-2007 370 -8.1
2005-2006 400 4.8
2004-2005 381 -7.6
2003-2004 410 -8.5
2002-2003 445 -0.9
2001-2002 449 -4.5
2000-2001 469 0.4
1999-2000 467 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2023-2024
RACE Akron-Fairgrove Schools (%) Michigan K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.0 0.6
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 0.0 3.7
Black 0.6 18.2
Hispanic 4.9 9.2
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.0 0.1
Two or More Races 2.9 5.3
White 91.6 63.0

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Staff

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[4]

As of the 2023-2024 school year, Akron-Fairgrove Schools had 22.56 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 15.38.

Teachers, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 1.00
Kindergarten: 2.00
Elementary: 9.47
Secondary: 7.59
Total: 22.56

Akron-Fairgrove Schools employed 3.50 district administrators and 0.85 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.

Administrators, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 3.50
District Administrative Support: 0.00
School Administrators: 0.85
School Administrative Support: 4.03
Other staff, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 4.67
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 0.00
Total Guidance Counselors: 0.00
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 0.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 0.00
Librarians/Media Specialists: 0.00
Library/Media Support: 1.00
Student Support Services: 2.00
Other Support Services: 7.28

Schools

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]

Akron-Fairgrove Schools operates three schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Akronfairgrove Elem School176PK-5
Akronfairgrove Jrsr High School1716-12
Akronfairgrove Schools Academic Learning Center09-12


About school boards

Education legislation in Michigan

Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.

See also

School Boards Education Policy Local Politics Michigan
School Board badge.png
Education Policy Icon.png
Local Politics Image.jpg
Seal of Michigan.png

External links

  • Office website
  • Search Google News for this topic

    • Footnotes

    1. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    2. ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
    3. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    4. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    5. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    v • e
    Michigan school districts
    Flag of Michigan
    v • e
    State of Michigan
    Lansing (capital)
    Elections

    What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

    Government

    Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy

    Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Akron-Fairgrove_Schools,_Michigan,_elections&oldid=10235462"