Bob Piggott
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Bob Piggott was a member of the Waterford School District Board of Education, At-large in Michigan. Piggott assumed office in 2010.
This office is outside of Ballotpedia's coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates. Our scope includes all elected federal and state officeholders as well as comprehensive coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population.
Biography
Piggott is a project manager with Hubbell, Roth and Clark.[1]
Elections
2016
Three of the seven seats on the Waterford School District school board were up for general election on November 8, 2016. Incumbents Robert Petrusha, Bob Piggott, and Robert Seeterlin filed for re-election. They faced challengers Mary Barghahn, Paul Greenawalt, Jon Knapp, and Eric Lindemier. Petrusha, Barghahn, and Piggott won in the general election.[2]
Results
| Waterford School District, At-Large General Election, 6-year terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Robert Petrusha Incumbent |
19.50% | 12,298 |
| Mary Barghahn |
17.23% | 10,867 |
| Bob Piggott Incumbent |
15.83% | 9,988 |
| Robert Seeterlin Incumbent | 14.48% | 9,132 |
| Jon Knapp | 13.71% | 8,650 |
| Eric Lindemier | 11.67% | 7,362 |
| Paul Greenawalt | 7.08% | 4,465 |
| Write-in votes | 0.5% | 318 |
| Total Votes | 63,080 | |
| Source: Oakland County Elections Division, "November 8, 2016 General Election," November 22, 2016 | ||
Funding
School board candidates in Michigan were required to file pre-election campaign finance reports with their county election offices by October 28, 2016. Post-election reports were due by December 8, 2016.[3]
In Michigan, candidates are prohibited from receiving contributions from corporations or labor organizations. Within 10 days of becoming a candidate, candidates must form a candidate committee. Following the creation of the committee, candidates have an additional 10 days to register the committee with the school district filing official by filing a statement of organization. A candidate committee that does not expect to receive or spend more than $1,000 during the election cycle is eligible to receive a reporting waiver, which allows that committee not to file pre-election, post-election, and annual campaign statements.[4]
October 28 filing
Candidates received a total of $7,117.95 and spent a total of $5,067.09 as of October 30, 2016, according to the Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds.[5]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Petrusha (incumbent) | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Bob Piggott (incumbent) | $797.95 | $782.09 | $15.86 |
| Robert Seeterlin (incumbent) | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Mary Barghahn | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Paul Greenawalt | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Jon Knapp | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Eric Lindemier | $6,320.00 | $4,285.00 | $2,035.00 |
Campaign themes
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Bob Piggott participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on October 11, 2016:
| “ | To make sure we have the best resources available in our classroom to prepare our kids to be successful for the rest of their lives. To improve the image of our district which will attract young families to move into and invest into our community. To provide safe buildings and a safe environment for our children. Work as a team with our entire staff, our parents and our community to make the Waterford School District the best district in not only the State of Michigan, but in the United States. If we work together, there is nothing that we cannot achieve.[6][7] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Michigan. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| “ | All of the issues above are very important in the Waterford School District. Ultimately, our most important job is to educate children and provide the proper tools and education to be successful in our diverse and ever changing economy.[7] | ” |
| —Bob Piggott (October 11, 2016) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer nine questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| No. We have a public school system that allows our kids to flourish. We should do everything we can to help our local public schools and provide the best possible resources to educate our children. Also charter schools are privately owned and do not have to abide by the same rules as public schools do. |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| Yes and no. While using the same test to the same age kids throughout the state, it does provide the opportunity to see how your kids and district compare to others and perhaps gives you an idea on what areas you are excelling at and what areas you might need to look at to see if there are ways to improve. At the same time, kids learn differently and at different paces. We need to let our teachers teach to our kids that will challenge them the most. While some children might be struggling in fifth grade, if we continue to work hard with them at school and at home, there is a great possibility that by high school they can be excelling and well on their way to a successful future. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| As stated in an earlier question, we need to allow our teachers to teach based on their style and based on their students. |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. While doing this though, you must have a timeframe in which to allow for the teacher to improve. There could be multiple variables in which the teacher is underperforming and I would be in favor of working as a team to help the teacher improve as if he/she does, it only benefits the students. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| While it sounds good and the right thing to do, I don’t know if there is a fair way to accomplish that. Teachers do not get to select their students. I have seen in my years with the districts some teachers are blessed with high achieving students, willing to learn and succeed. I’ve seen other classes where there are many struggling students in that class, making it more challenging for the teacher. There is no doubt are teachers are underpaid. For years, they have taken cuts, yet continued to excel in the classroom. My hope would be that we could regularly give raises to all of our staff for the great work they do. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. Public dollars should be used for public schools. Private schools charge tuition and should not be given the additional funds from public money. Also, private schools are not held to the same standards public schools are and therefore no public should be given to private schools. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| To be used in extreme discipline cases where this is potential harm to other students or staff. While nobody wishes or wants to expel kids, at times if the violation is serious enough, the district must have the ability to remove that student from the district to protect the other students. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers with parent involvement being a very close second. Obviously, we the trust into our teachers to educate our children. Therefore, we have to make sure they are given the support and resources to best do just that. However, a teacher cannot be successful alone. A strong parental involvement into a child’s education is so important. A strong teacher, involved parents and a student willing to learn is something we should all strive for. |
Additional themes
Piggott provided the following responses to the League of Women Voters Oakland Area regarding his top priorities for the district:
| “ |
1. School Funding. It is imperative that local school boards work with and communicate with our elected officials in Lansing to let them know the dire need public schools are in for appropriate funding so that our children are educated properly. 2. Declining Enrollment. It is imperative that our district continues to properly educate our children and implements new programs to maintain our families who live in the Waterford District. I have been part of the implementation of the Junior Kindergarten program, the STEM (science, technology, engineering, match) Program, and the Waterford READS program, which guarantees that all Waterford Students will read at or above grade level by third grade. 3. Open Communication with our Families: This board must be the bridge between our families and our administration. As a board member, I have and will continue to listen to our community as to their needs and their concerns.[8][7] |
” |
| —Bob Piggott (2016) | ||
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Waterford School District, "Waterford Board of Education," accessed October 24, 2016
- ↑ Oakland County Elections Division, "Unofficial Candidate List," August 19, 2016
- ↑ Michigan Bureau of Elections, "2016 and 2017 Campaign Finance Filing Schedule," January 12, 2016
- ↑ Genesee County, "Filing Requirements under Michigan's Campaign Finance Act," February 7, 2014
- ↑ Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds, "Campaign Finance Reporting System," accessed October 30, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Bob Piggott's responses," October 11, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ League of Women Voters Oakland Area, "Voter Guide - November General Election," accessed October 24, 2016
| 2016 Waterford School District Elections | |
| Oakland County, Michigan | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Robert Petrusha • Incumbent, Bob Piggott • Incumbent, Robert Seeterlin • Mary Barghahn • Paul Greenawalt • Jon Knapp • Eric Lindemier |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
