Grand Rapids Public Schools, Michigan, elections

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Grand Rapids Public Schools
District details
School board members: 9
Students: 13,787 (2022-2023)
Schools: 51 (2022-2023)
Website: Link

Grand Rapids Public Schools is a school district in Michigan (Kent County). During the 2023 school year, 13,787 students attended one of the district's 51 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

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• 2024
• 2014

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.

Grand Rapids Public Schools, At-large

General election

General election for Grand Rapids Public Schools, At-large (4 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Grand Rapids Public Schools, At-large on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Arick Davis (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Jordoun T. Eatman (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Amber Z. Kilpatrick (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Norma M. Lopez (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Eleanor Moreno (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Ismalis Nunez (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Tonya Williams (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Richard Williamson (Nonpartisan)

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
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Grand Rapids Public Schools, At-large

General election

General election for Grand Rapids Public Schools, At-large

Incumbent Tony Baker, incumbent Wendy Verhage Falb, incumbent Jose Flores, incumbent John M. Matias, and incumbent Maureen Quinn Slade won election in the general election for Grand Rapids Public Schools, At-large on November 4, 2014.

		Candidate
✔		Tony Baker (Nonpartisan)
✔		Wendy Verhage Falb (Nonpartisan)
✔		Jose Flores (Nonpartisan)
✔		John M. Matias (Nonpartisan)
✔		Maureen Quinn Slade (Nonpartisan)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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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

View 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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

See law: Michigan Statute Section 380.384 and Section 168.302

 

About the district

School board

Grand Rapids Public Schools consists of nine members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members

Name	Year assumed office	Year term ends
Arick Davis	2025	2028
Amber Kilpatrick	2025	2028
Eleanor Moreno	2025	2028
Richard Williamson	2025	2028
Kymberlie Davis		2026
Sara Melton		2026
José Rodriguez		2026
Aarie Wade		2026
Kimberley Williams		2026

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District map

School district map

Overlapping state house districts

Grand Rapids Public Schools

Office Name	Current Officeholder	Party	% School District Covered	% Other District Covered
Michigan House of Representatives District 82	Kristian Grant	Democratic Party	33%	83%
Michigan House of Representatives District 84	Carol Glanville	Democratic Party	31%	28%
Michigan House of Representatives District 81	Stephen Wooden	Democratic Party	31%	17%
Michigan House of Representatives District 83	John Fitzgerald	Democratic Party	6%	9%

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.

• Revenue
• Expenditures

Revenue, 2020-2021

SOURCE	AMOUNT	AMOUNT PER STUDENT	PERCENT
Federal:	$37,830,000	$2,696	14%
Local:	$97,379,000	$6,939	37%
State:	$128,254,000	$9,139	49%
Total:	$263,463,000	$18,773

Expenditures, 2020-2021

TYPE	AMOUNT	AMOUNT PER STUDENT	PERCENT
Total Expenditures:	$249,823,000	$17,801
Total Current Expenditures:	$198,772,000	$14,163
Instructional Expenditures:	$114,105,000	$8,130	46%
Student and Staff Support:	$22,806,000	$1,625	9%
Administration:	$30,914,000	$2,202	12%
Operations, Food Service, Other:	$30,947,000	$2,205	12%
Total Capital Outlay:	$20,956,000	$1,493
Construction:	$12,674,000	$903
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other:	$2,208,000	$157
Interest on Debt:	$10,436,000	$743

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."

• Mathematics
• Reading/language arts
• Graduation rates

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	15	30-39	5	8	<50	15	39
2018-2019	20	65-69	9	17	<=20	20	43
2017-2018	18	40-44	9	15	11-19	18	38
2016-2017	19	40-44	9	16	11-19	21	41
2015-2016	18	45-49	9	14	11-19	18	39
2014-2015	17	40-44	9	13	11-19	19	38
2013-2014	23	50-54	13	19	11-19	26	47
2012-2013	22	50-54	13	19	11-19	24	43
2011-2012	19	50-54	11	15	11-19	20	38
2010-2011	66	75-79	57	67	75-79	70	80

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	29	50-59	13	19	<50	32	62
2018-2019	30	70-74	18	26	21-39	36	57
2017-2018	24	45-49	15	21	20-29	27	48
2016-2017	29	55-59	18	24	30-39	34	53
2015-2016	29	55-59	18	23	20-29	34	55
2014-2015	27	55-59	17	23	<=20	30	51
2013-2014	46	65-69	35	40	30-39	53	70
2012-2013	47	60-64	37	42	40-49	57	69
2011-2012	43	60-64	33	37	40-49	50	67
2010-2011	64	75-79	57	62	70-74	72	79

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	81	>=80	70-74	85	PS	80-89	85-89
2018-2019	76	>=50	65-69	82	PS	70-79	75-79
2017-2018	71	>=80	71	75-79	PS	70-79	60-64
2016-2017	67	>=50	65-69	70-74	PS	60-69	55-59
2015-2016	66	>=50	65-69	70-74	PS	60-69	55-59
2014-2015	56	60-79	61	55-59	PS	50-59	45-49
2013-2014	50	>=50	49	50-54	<50	40-49	50-54
2012-2013	47	40-59	48	41	PS	50-54	50-54
2011-2012	45	21-39	41	40-44	>=50	50-59	50-54
2010-2011	48	40-59	46	42	<50	45-49	55-59

Students

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

• Enrollment
• Demographics

Year	Enrollment	Year-to-year change (%)
2022-2023	13,787	-0.8
2021-2022	13,900	-1.0
2020-2021	14,034	-3.7
2019-2020	14,557	-8.6
2018-2019	15,803	-2.4
2017-2018	16,179	-1.5
2016-2017	16,417	1.0
2015-2016	16,246	0.1
2014-2015	16,232	-1.4
2013-2014	16,452	-3.6
2012-2013	17,038	-3.3
2011-2012	17,606	-2.9
2010-2011	18,125	-2.9
2009-2010	18,652	-6.2
2008-2009	19,815	-2.4
2007-2008	20,300	-5.7
2006-2007	21,448	0.7
2005-2006	21,293	-9.4
2004-2005	23,295	-3.7
2003-2004	24,166	3.1
2002-2003	23,418	2.6
2001-2002	22,803	-12.4
2000-2001	25,625	-1.4
1999-2000	25,978	0.0

Racial Demographics, 2022-2023

RACE	Grand Rapids Public Schools (%)	Michigan K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native	0.3	0.6
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander	1.2	3.6
Black	30.8	18.1
Hispanic	39.3	8.9
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	0.0	0.1
Two or More Races	6.6	5.1
White	21.7	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.

• Teachers
• Administrators
• Other staff

As of the 2022-2023 school year, Grand Rapids Public Schools had 795.97 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 17.32.

Teachers, 2022-2023 school year

TYPE	NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten:	56.00
Kindergarten:	26.00
Elementary:	323.90
Secondary:	282.17
Total:	795.97

Grand Rapids Public Schools employed 59.00 district administrators and 64.00 school administrators as of the 2022-2023 school year.

Administrators, 2022-2023 school year

TYPE	NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators:	59.00
District Administrative Support:	5.00
School Administrators:	64.00
School Administrative Support:	91.25

Other staff, 2022-2023 school year

TYPE	NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides:	130.20
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors:	35.00
Total Guidance Counselors:	17.70
Elementary Guidance Counselors:	0.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors:	17.70
Librarians/Media Specialists:	0.00
Library/Media Support:	9.50
Student Support Services:	132.51
Other Support Services:	775.60

Schools

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

Grand Rapids Public Schools operates 51 schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.

List of schools

SCHOOL NAME	NUMBER OF STUDENTS	GRADES
Aberdeen Academy	234	PK-8
Alger Middle School	342	6-8
Bethany Based School	18	4-12
Blandford School	60	6-6
Brookside Elementary	280	PK-5
Buchanan Elementary	359	PK-5
Burton Elementary	376	PK-5
Burton Middle School	482	6-8
Ca Frost Environmental Science Academy Elementary	448	PK-5
Ca Frost Environmental Science Academy Middle High School	357	6-12
Campus Elementary	266	PK-5
Center For Economicology	59	6-6
Cesar E Chavez Elementary	412	PK-5
City Middlehigh	908	7-12
Coit Creative Arts Academy	242	PK-5
Congress Elementary	191	PK-5
Dickinson Academy	244	PK-8
East Leonard Elementary	167	PK-5
Gerald R Ford Academic Center	230	PK-8
Grand Rapids Learning Center	42	9-12
Grand Rapids Montessori Academy	320	PK-12
Grand Rapids Montessori Middlehigh	180	7-12
Grand Rapids Public Museum High	273	9-12
Grand Rapids Public Museum Middle	173	6-8
Grand Rapids University Preparatory Academy	466	6-12
Harrison Park Academy	639	PK-8
Home Education Site	1	1-12
Innovation Central High	523	9-12
John Ball Park Zoo School	59	6-6
Kenosha Park Elementary	123	PK-5
Kent Hills Elementary	189	PK-5
Martin Luther King Leadership Academy	296	PK-8
Mulick Park Elementary School	244	PK-5
Newcomers Community School	102	9-12
North Park Montessori Academy	376	PK-8
Ottawa High Transition	16	9-12
Ottawa Hills High School	369	9-12
Palmer School	178	PK-5
Ridgemoor Park Montessori	132	PK-6
Riverside Middle School	248	6-8
Shared Time	0	KG-12
Shawmut Hills School	261	PK-8
Sherwood Global Studies Academy	128	PK-6
Sibley School	256	PK-5
Southeast Career Pathways	105	9-12
Southwest Elementary Academia Bilingue	635	PK-6
Southwest Middlehigh Academia Bilingue	330	7-12
Stocking Elementary	148	PK-5
Union High School	922	9-12
Union High Transition	59	9-12
Westwood Middle School	189	6-8

About school boards

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See also

School Boards	Education Policy	Local Politics	Michigan
List of school districts in Michigan Michigan school board elections, 2025 School board elections, 2025 School board recalls School board authority in Michigan	Michigan Department of Education Public education in Michigan	Municipal government Local courts Local ballot measures Recalls	Michigan Michigan elections, 2025 Michigan State Legislature Michigan state executive offices

External links

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