Eric Lindemier
Eric Lindemier was a candidate for an at-large seat on the Waterford School District school board in Michigan. Lindemier was defeated in the at-large general election on November 8, 2016.
Biography
Lindemier earned his bachelor's degree in public administration from Michigan State University.[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 |
Endorsements
Lindemier's endorsements included the following organizations as of October 24, 2016:[6]
- Metro Detroit AFL-CIO
- AFT Michigan
- Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights
- Waterford Democratic Club
- Michigan Building and Trades Council
Campaign themes
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Eric Lindemier 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 September 27, 2016:
| “ | We need Waterford to become a "District of Destination" We need to work with the community to create a plan to retain and attract students to the district.[7][8] | ” |
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 |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | The topics do not need to be ranked by rigged priority. There are strategies to deal with multiple issues at the same time.[8] | ” |
| —Eric Lindemeier (September 27, 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. Charters have not proven to be the answer. |
| 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 defer to school board decisions in most cases. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| If implemented properly yes I support common core. |
| 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. There may be a number of reasons that for underperforming teachers. Therefore, a variety of strategies need to be in place. I think all 4 items listed may need to be used based on the situation. Working within the system to improve performance should be the first step. Termination should be used if corrective measures have proved not to work. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| No. Merit pay systems are not applied equitably and have not proved to improve outcomes. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| It should be used only in egregious cases. We need social workers to work with students and families. However, when weapons and drugs are involved and prove that other student safety is in peril the district needs to act quickly to protect students. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Parent involvement. |
Additional themes
Lindemier provided the following responses to the League of Women Voters Oakland Area regarding his top priorities for the district:
| “ |
1) Student Loss: (budgeted as 500 per year); Bring Waterford Township officials, business leaders, educators and parents together to create a plan to attract students ($50 million lost revenue in recent years). We need education programs in Waterford that will make us a “School District of Destination”. Visit my web site for more information www.lindemierforwaterfordschool.com. Cutting wages and benefits of employees cannot be our only response to student loss. 2) Helping Parents: Developing an Iphone/Android app to send “push” messages to parents when their child has a missing assignment has received wide support from parents and educators. No other area district has this app to help parents and students raise classroom performance. 3) Educating Non-College Bound Students: We need an apprentice prep program for non-college bound students that will ready our students for building trades apprentice programs. Student debt is a crisis therefore we need programs for non-college bound students.[1][8] |
” |
| —Eric Lindemier (2016) | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Eric Lindemier Waterford School District. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 League of Women Voters Oakland Area, "Voter Guide - November General Election," 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
- ↑ Lindemier for Waterford Schools, "Endorsements," accessed October 24, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Eric Lindemier's responses," September 27, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 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? |
