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Big Rapids Public Schools, Michigan, elections

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Big Rapids Public Schools
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District details
School board members: 7
Students: 2,363 (2022-2023)
Schools: 5 (2022-2023)
Website: Link

Big Rapids Public Schools is a school district in Michigan (Newaygo and Mecosta counties). During the 2023 school year, 2,363 students attended one of the district's five schools.

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

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Elections School board Location Budget Academic performance Students Staff Schools

Elections

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Big Rapids Public Schools, At-large

General election

General election for Big Rapids Public Schools, At-large (2 seats)

Michelle Rasmussen and Christopher Vennix ran in the general election for Big Rapids Public Schools, At-large on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
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Michelle Rasmussen (Nonpartisan)
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Christopher Vennix (Nonpartisan)

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Big Rapids Public Schools, At-large

General election

Special general election for Big Rapids Public Schools, At-large

David H. Murray ran in the special general election for Big Rapids Public Schools, At-large on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
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David H. Murray (Nonpartisan)

There are no incumbents in this race.

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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

Big Rapids Public Schools consists of seven members serving six-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameYear assumed officeYear term ends
Michelle Rasmussen2030
Christopher Vennix2030
Jeff Godfrey2028
Shavon Jane2028
David Murray2028
Peter Kent2026
Jeremy Mishler2026

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District map

School district map

Overlapping state house districts

Big Rapids Public Schools
Office NameCurrent OfficeholderParty% School District Covered% Other District Covered
Michigan House of Representatives District 100Tom KunseRepublican Party 71% 6%
Michigan House of Representatives District 101Joseph FoxRepublican Party 29% 2%

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, 2020-2021
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $5,572,000 $2,713 18%
Local: $9,843,000 $4,792 31%
State: $16,452,000 $8,010 52%
Total: $31,867,000 $15,515
Expenditures, 2020-2021
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $38,221,000 $18,608
Total Current Expenditures: $23,906,000 $11,638
Instructional Expenditures: $14,874,000 $7,241 39%
Student and Staff Support: $1,414,000 $688 4%
Administration: $2,671,000 $1,300 7%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $4,947,000 $2,408 13%
Total Capital Outlay: $12,898,000 $6,279
Construction: $12,184,000 $5,931
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $66,000 $32
Interest on Debt: $1,215,000 $591

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 36 >=50 <=20 21-39 PS 30-39 37
2018-2019 40 PS 20-29 21-39 PS 40-49 41
2017-2018 34 >=50 11-19 21-39 30-39 34
2016-2017 43 >=50 30-39 21-39 PS 40-49 43
2015-2016 36 40-59 11-19 21-39 PS <=20 38
2014-2015 38 >=50 <=10 21-39 PS 20-29 40
2013-2014 42 >=50 20-29 21-39 PS 20-29 44
2012-2013 40 >=50 15-19 21-39 PS 30-39 42
2011-2012 35 >=50 10-14 40-59 PS 11-19 37
2010-2011 80 60-79 60-64 60-79 PS 60-79 82

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 52 >=50 21-39 60-79 PS 50-59 53
2018-2019 48 PS 30-39 40-59 PS 50-59 49
2017-2018 36 >=50 30-39 21-39 30-39 36
2016-2017 49 >=50 30-39 40-59 PS 50-59 49
2015-2016 45 40-59 20-29 <=20 PS 21-39 47
2014-2015 43 >=50 11-19 21-39 PS 20-29 45
2013-2014 69 >=50 50-59 60-79 PS 60-69 71
2012-2013 65 >=50 40-44 40-59 PS 50-59 67
2011-2012 61 >=50 30-34 40-59 PS 50-59 64
2010-2011 80 >=50 65-69 60-79 PS 70-79 82

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 69 PS >=50 >=50 PS <50 70-74
2018-2019 75-79 PS >=50 >=50 >=50 75-79
2017-2018 70-74 PS >=50 >=50 PS 65-69
2016-2017 77 PS >=50 >=50 PS PS 75-79
2015-2016 70-74 PS >=80 PS PS >=50 70-74
2014-2015 75-79 PS >=50 PS PS PS 75-79
2013-2014 75-79 PS 60-79 PS >=50 75-79
2012-2013 80-84 PS >=50 PS PS PS 80-84
2011-2012 78 PS >=50 PS PS PS 75-79
2010-2011 70-74 PS >=50 PS PS 70-74

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 (%)
2022-2023 2,363 6.9
2021-2022 2,201 6.7
2020-2021 2,054 -2.3
2019-2020 2,102 2.0
2018-2019 2,061 4.0
2017-2018 1,979 -1.0
2016-2017 1,998 2.6
2015-2016 1,946 0.7
2014-2015 1,933 0.3
2013-2014 1,928 1.8
2012-2013 1,893 -1.3
2011-2012 1,917 -0.6
2010-2011 1,928 -5.2
2009-2010 2,029 -2.3
2008-2009 2,076 0.2
2007-2008 2,071 -0.1
2006-2007 2,073 -1.3
2005-2006 2,100 -3.6
2004-2005 2,175 0.1
2003-2004 2,172 -1.2
2002-2003 2,197 0.6
2001-2002 2,184 -3.3
2000-2001 2,257 -2.0
1999-2000 2,302 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2022-2023
RACE Big Rapids Public Schools (%) Michigan K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.3 0.6
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 0.6 3.6
Black 3.0 18.1
Hispanic 1.9 8.9
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.1 0.1
Two or More Races 5.8 5.1
White 88.4 63.6

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 2022-2023 school year, Big Rapids Public Schools had 110.60 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 21.37.

Teachers, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 0.00
Kindergarten: 10.00
Elementary: 39.00
Secondary: 51.20
Total: 110.60

Big Rapids Public Schools employed 9.00 district administrators and 7.00 school administrators as of the 2022-2023 school year.

Administrators, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 9.00
District Administrative Support: 1.00
School Administrators: 7.00
School Administrative Support: 10.08
Other staff, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 57.41
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 4.00
Total Guidance Counselors: 3.00
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 0.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 3.00
Librarians/Media Specialists: 0.00
Library/Media Support: 1.50
Student Support Services: 10.88
Other Support Services: 35.26

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]

Big Rapids Public Schools operates five schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Big Rapids High School7149-12
Big Rapids Middle School6465-8
Big Rapids Virtual School152KG-12
Brookside Elementary School417PK-4
Riverview Elementary School421PK-4

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
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External links

  • Office website
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    • Footnotes

    1. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed June 17, 2024
    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 June 17, 2024
    4. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed June 17, 2024
    5. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed June 17, 2024
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