Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools, Michigan, elections

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Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools
District details
School board members: 7
Students: 682 (2023-2024)
Schools: 3 (2023-2024)
Website: Link

Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools is a school district in Michigan (Montmorency, Oscoda, and Otsego counties). During the 2024 school year, 682 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

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• 2024

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.

Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools, At-large

General election

General election for Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools, At-large (2 seats)

Scott Mathewson and Ursula H. Owens ran in the general election for Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools, At-large on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Scott Mathewson (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Ursula H. Owens (Nonpartisan)

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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

Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools consists of seven members serving six-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members

Name	Year assumed office	Year term ends
Scott Mathewson	2012	2030
Ursula Owens	2008	2030
Frank Claeys	2012	2028
Linc Campbell	2011	2028
Nancy Kussrow	2014	2026
Wendy Huston	2012	2026
Michael Vogt	1993	2026

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District map

School district map

Overlapping state house districts

Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools

Office Name	Current Officeholder	Party	% School District Covered	% Other District Covered
Michigan House of Representatives District 105	Ken Borton	Republican Party	50%	5%
Michigan House of Representatives District 106	Cameron Cavitt	Republican Party	50%	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.

• Revenue
• Expenditures

Revenue, 2021-2022

SOURCE	AMOUNT	AMOUNT PER STUDENT	PERCENT
Federal:	$939,000	$1,332	9%
Local:	$6,694,000	$9,495	65%
State:	$2,628,000	$3,728	26%
Total:	$10,261,000	$14,555

Expenditures, 2021-2022

TYPE	AMOUNT	AMOUNT PER STUDENT	PERCENT
Total Expenditures:	$13,515,000	$19,170
Total Current Expenditures:	$8,773,000	$12,443
Instructional Expenditures:	$5,436,000	$7,710	40%
Student and Staff Support:	$345,000	$489	3%
Administration:	$1,502,000	$2,130	11%
Operations, Food Service, Other:	$1,490,000	$2,113	11%
Total Capital Outlay:	$4,147,000	$5,882
Construction:	$3,997,000	$5,669
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other:	$31,000	$43
Interest on Debt:	$434,000	$615

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	33	PS	PS	<50	PS	PS	34
2018-2019	39	PS	PS	<50	PS	PS	39
2017-2018	41	PS	PS	<50	PS	PS	42
2016-2017	44	PS	PS	>=50		PS	44
2015-2016	44	PS	PS	PS	PS		44
2014-2015	40	PS		PS	PS	PS	39
2013-2014	44			PS	PS	PS	44
2012-2013	43		PS	PS	PS	PS	42
2011-2012	35		PS	<50	PS	PS	35
2010-2011	86		PS	PS	PS		85

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	42	PS	PS	<50	PS	PS	43
2018-2019	52	PS	PS	<50	PS	PS	52
2017-2018	45	PS	PS	<50	PS	PS	45
2016-2017	59	PS	PS	>=50		PS	59
2015-2016	64	PS	PS	PS	PS		64
2014-2015	63	PS		PS	PS	PS	63
2013-2014	77			PS	PS	PS	77
2012-2013	75		PS	PS	PS	PS	75
2011-2012	70		PS	>=50	PS	PS	69
2010-2011	85		PS	PS	PS		85

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	>=90				PS		>=90
2018-2019	80-89	PS					>=90
2017-2018	>=90				PS		>=90
2016-2017	80-89		PS				80-89
2015-2016	80-89			PS			80-89
2014-2015	>=90					PS	>=90
2013-2014	>=90					PS	>=90
2012-2013	>=90				PS	PS	>=90
2011-2012	80-89			PS			80-89
2010-2011	70-79				PS	PS	70-79

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 (%)
2023-2024	682	-5.1
2022-2023	717	1.7
2021-2022	705	0.7
2020-2021	700	-0.9
2019-2020	706	1.3
2018-2019	697	0.4
2017-2018	694	-3.6
2016-2017	719	-0.6
2015-2016	723	-0.4
2014-2015	726	-1.2
2013-2014	735	-2.7
2012-2013	755	-3.3
2011-2012	780	-1.0
2010-2011	788	-2.2
2009-2010	805	-4.1
2008-2009	838	-2.3
2007-2008	857	-0.1
2006-2007	858	-3.4
2005-2006	887	1.1
2004-2005	877	1.0
2003-2004	868	0.2
2002-2003	866	1.5
2001-2002	853	-2.6
2000-2001	875	1.7
1999-2000	860	0.0

Racial Demographics, 2023-2024

RACE	Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools (%)	Michigan K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native	1.2	0.6
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander	0.4	3.7
Black	0.3	18.2
Hispanic	2.6	9.2
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	0.4	0.1
Two or More Races	2.5	5.3
White	92.5	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.

• Teachers
• Administrators
• Other staff

As of the 2023-2024 school year, Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools had 41.63 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 16.38.

Teachers, 2023-2024 school year

TYPE	NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten:	0.00
Kindergarten:	2.00
Elementary:	14.75
Secondary:	21.70
Total:	41.63

Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools employed 2.77 district administrators and 5.00 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.

Administrators, 2023-2024 school year

TYPE	NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators:	2.77
District Administrative Support:	1.00
School Administrators:	5.00
School Administrative Support:	6.23

Other staff, 2023-2024 school year

TYPE	NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides:	15.41
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors:	0.00
Total Guidance Counselors:	0.90
Elementary Guidance Counselors:	0.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors:	0.90
Librarians/Media Specialists:	0.00
Library/Media Support:	0.17
Student Support Services:	9.17
Other Support Services:	24.44

Schools

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

Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools operates three schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.

List of schools

SCHOOL NAME	NUMBER OF STUDENTS	GRADES
Johannesburglewiston Elementarymiddle School	324	KG-8
Johannesburglewiston High School	214	9-12
Lewiston Elementary School	144	KG-5

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
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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