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Necole Cichowlas
Necole Cichowlas was a candidate for an at-large seat on the L'Anse Creuse Public Schools school board in Michigan. Cichowlas was defeated in the at-large general election on November 8, 2016.
Elections
2016
Three of the seven seats on the L'Anse Creuse Public Schools school board were up for general election on November 8, 2016. Incumbents Mary Hilton, Jeffrey Pegg, and Sharon McTavish Ross filed for re-election. They were joined on the general election ballot by challengers Necole Cichowlas, Hilary Dubay, Steven Maul, James Munroe, Terri Spencer, and Brandon Trondle. Hilton, Spencer, and Ross won in the general election.[1]
Results
| L'Anse Creuse Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 6-year terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Mary Hilton Incumbent |
14.36% | 7,866 |
| Terri Spencer |
13.80% | 7,559 |
| Sharon McTavish Ross Incumbent |
13.36% | 7,318 |
| Hilary Dubay | 12.94% | 7,088 |
| Jeffrey Pegg Incumbent | 10.71% | 5,869 |
| James Munroe | 10.70% | 5,862 |
| Necole Cichowlas | 9.10% | 4,986 |
| Steven Maul | 8.46% | 4,636 |
| Brandon Trondle | 6.56% | 3,593 |
| Total Votes | 54,777 | |
| Source: Macomb County, Michigan, "Election Results," accessed December 14, 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.[2]
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.[3]
October 28 filing
Candidates received a total of $4,740.00 and spent a total of $2,447.57 as of October 30, 2016, according to the Macomb County Clerk/Register.[4]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Hilton (incumbent) | $250.00 | $0.00 | $250.00 |
| Jeffrey Pegg (incumbent) | Exempt | Exempt | Exempt |
| Sharon McTavish Ross (incumbent) | $1,445.00 | $1,238.49 | $161.51 |
| Necole Cichowlas | Exempt | Exempt | Exempt |
| Hilary Dubay | Exempt | Exempt | Exempt |
| Steven Maul | $280.00 | $0.00 | $280.00 |
| James Munroe | $2,765.00 | $1,209.08 | $1,555.92 |
| Terri Spencer | Exempt | Exempt | Exempt |
| Brandon Trondle | Exempt | Exempt | Exempt |
Campaign themes
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Necole Cichowlas 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 August 20, 2016:
| “ | True transparency and a balanced budget. I would like to make sure that the desires of the community as a whole are met. I would like to meet the needs of all students in the district and not focus on any single issue. I want all staff members to feel like the Board of Education is their Ally.[5][6] | ” |
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 | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | I think all these topics are important and deserve their fair amount of attention having to rank them in order of importance doesn't seem right, they are all important however some need immediate attention more than others.[6] | ” |
| —Necole Cichowlas (August 20, 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. |
| 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. The School board should know what is best for its district allowing the State to aide in any of those decisions could prove to be detrimental. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| I understand the concept but see many flaws in the implementation of it. I see how it may be nice in theory to offer a level playing field in curriculum from state to state however I do not feel a "one Size fits all " education is the answer. There are a lot of factors that make sense for one state but not for another. |
| 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. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. I believe until the state has helped aid in the full funding of public education can they even begin to consider help funding another. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Expulsion needs to be evaluated on a case by case basis. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers |
Additional themes
Cichowlas provided the following response to the district's candidate survey:
Note: You can navigate the documents by zooming in or out with the + and - buttons and using the horizontal and vertical scrollbars on the document.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Necole Cichowlas L'Anse Creuse Public Schools. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Macomb County, Michigan, "November 8, 2016 Candidate List : Candidate List," accessed August 30, 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
- ↑ Macomb County Clerk/Register, "Campaign Finance Reporting," accessed October 30, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Necole Cichowlas's responses," August 20, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 2016 L'Anse Creuse Public Schools Elections | |
| Macomb County, Michigan | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Mary Hilton • Incumbent, Jeffrey Pegg • Incumbent, Sharon McTavish Ross • Necole Cichowlas • Hilary Dubay • Steven Maul • James Munroe • Terri Spencer • Brandon Trondle |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
