Mike Wiser
Mike Wiser is a member of the Spokane Public Schools school board in Washington, representing Position 5. He assumed office on November 29, 2017. His current term ends in 2029.
Wiser ran for re-election to the Spokane Public Schools school board to represent Position 5 in Washington. He won in the general election on November 7, 2023.
Biography
Wiser's professional experience includes working for CHAS Health, as an engineer and a consultant, and owning a small business. He earned his M.B.A. from Northwestern University and his B.S. in industrial engineering from the University of Washington.[1]
Elections
2023
See also: Spokane Public Schools, Washington, elections (2023)
General election
General election for Spokane Public Schools Board of Directors Position 5
Incumbent Mike Wiser defeated Ericka Lalka in the general election for Spokane Public Schools Board of Directors Position 5 on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Mike Wiser (Nonpartisan) | 59.5 | 40,193 |
 | Ericka Lalka (Nonpartisan)  | 39.9 | 26,960 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6 | 433 | ||
| Total votes: 67,586 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Spokane Public Schools Board of Directors Position 5
Incumbent Mike Wiser and Ericka Lalka defeated David Voltz in the primary for Spokane Public Schools Board of Directors Position 5 on August 1, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Wiser (Nonpartisan) | 56.7 | 28,187 |
| ✔ | | Ericka Lalka (Nonpartisan) | 34.7 | 17,250 |
| David Voltz (Nonpartisan) | 7.9 | 3,950 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6 | 318 | ||
| Total votes: 49,705 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2017
- See also: Spokane Public Schools elections (2017)
Two of the five seats on the Spokane Public Schools school board in Washington were up for at-large general election on November 7, 2017. A primary election for District 5 was held on August 1, 2017, because more than two candidates filed for the seat.
In District 5, the District 2 incumbent Mike Wiser filed for the seat along with challengers Miranda Ackerman, Jennifer Thomas, and Jessica Yocom. Wiser and Thomas won the primary, allowing them to move on to the general. Wiser went on to win the seat. He was appointed to District 2 in March 2017 following former member Bob Douthitt's resignation.
A special election was held for the District 2 seat to finish out the last two years of Douthitt's term. District 5 incumbent Deana Brower ran unopposed, winning the seat.[2]
Results
| Spokane Public Schools, District 5 General Election, 6-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Mike Wiser |
62.92% | 25,083 |
| Jennifer Thomas | 37.08% | 14,782 |
| Total Votes | 39,865 | |
| Source: Spokane County, "November 7, 2017 General Election," accessed December 1, 2017 | ||
| Spokane Public Schools, District 5 Primary Election, 6-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Mike Wiser |
57.61% | 15,441 |
| Jennifer Thomas |
20.11% | 5,390 |
| Miranda Ackerman | 12.34% | 3,308 |
| Jessica Yocom | 9.13% | 2,446 |
| Write-in votes | 0.81% | 218 |
| Total Votes | 26,803 | |
| Source: Spokane County Elections Department: Canvassing Board, "August 1, 2017 Primary," accessed August 16, 2017 | ||
Funding
Wiser reported $8,775.00 in contributions and $1,873.75 in expenditures to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission, leaving him with $6,901.25 cash on hand as of October 16, 2017.[3]
Endorsements
Wiser received an official endorsement from The Spokesman-Review and the Washington Education Association.[4][5]
Campaign themes
2023
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Mike Wiser did not complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
Other survey responses
Ballotpedia identified the following surveys, interviews, and questionnaires Wiser completed for other organizations. If you are aware of a link that should be added, email us.
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Mike Wiser participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[6] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on June 8, 2017:
| “ | I will work towards evaluating the success of schools and programs in ways that better reflect the most important educational goals for youth. Specifically, an education should help students think freely and critically, participate in a community, experience the joy of learning, understand the value of hard work, find a passion in life, and be prepared for the next step in life. These goals are not measured by standardized testing scores or the graduation rate.[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 Washington. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Blank | |
| “ | I do not[8] | ” |
| —Mike Wiser (June 8, 2017) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer eight 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 two new public charter schools and the success of these is not yet understood. I support these efforts, but our area should wait before approving more public charter schools. |
| 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? |
| Yes. They are generally accurate but insufficient. |
| 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? |
| Offer additional training options. Offer additional training options. Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| No. Some merit pay is probably OK, but in general, teachers are in teaching for the right reasons and kids won't benefit greatly from merit pay. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. Public funds should be spend on public education, which should include enough options to meet the needs of the vast majority of students. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Sparingly and with limited length for cases where a cooling off period is helpful and in cases of safety. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers Teachers are #1, but can't be highly successful without excellence in all other factors. |
Campaign statement
Wiser submitted the following statement to the Spokane County voters' guide:[1]
| “ | Our schools are working well and academic outcomes for most students are improving. Class sizes are going down and option programs are expanding. But, more can be done and our community must keep pressing for better experiences for all students. There is an achievement gap that is too closely related to the zip code where a student lives, family income level, race, ethnicity, or disability. All public schools in Spokane must offer a world-class education that sets high expectations and enables all students to achieve their unique goals beyond scoring well on a standardized test.[8] | ” |
| —Mike Wiser (2017)[1] | ||
See also
2023 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Spokane County, "Voters' Guide," accessed June 27, 2017
- ↑ Spokane County, "2017 Candidates Who Have Filed," accessed May 25, 2017
- ↑ Washington Public Disclosure Commission, "Local Candidates," accessed October 16, 2017
- ↑ The Spokesman-Review, "Editorial: Review of S-R election endorsements," October 26, 2017
- ↑ Washington Education Association, "2017 WEA-PAC Election Endorsements," accessed November 6, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Mike Wiser's responses," June 8, 2017
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
