New Buffalo Area Schools, Michigan, elections

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New Buffalo Area Schools
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District details
School board members: 7
Students: 536 (2022-2023)
Schools: 3 (2022-2023)
Website: Link

New Buffalo Area Schools is a school district in Michigan (Berrien County). During the 2023 school year, 536 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.

Elections

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New Buffalo Area Schools, At-large

General election

General election for New Buffalo Area Schools, At-large (3 seats)

Greg Vosberg defeated in the general election for New Buffalo Area Schools, At-large on November 5, 2024. The remaining seats are too close to call.

Candidate
Stephen Donnelly (Nonpartisan)
John Haskins (Nonpartisan)
Greg Vosberg (Nonpartisan)

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New Buffalo Area Schools, At-large

General election

Special general election for New Buffalo Area Schools, At-large

Jennifer Summers ran in the special general election for New Buffalo Area Schools, At-large on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
Jennifer Summers (Nonpartisan)

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New Buffalo Area Schools, At-large

General election

Special general election for New Buffalo Area Schools, At-large

Vanessa Thun ran in the special general election for New Buffalo Area Schools, At-large on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
Vanessa Thun (Nonpartisan)

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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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.

DocumentIcon.jpg 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.

DocumentIcon.jpg 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."

DocumentIcon.jpg 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.

DocumentIcon.jpg 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.

DocumentIcon.jpg 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.

DocumentIcon.jpg 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.

DocumentIcon.jpg 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.

DocumentIcon.jpg 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.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Michigan Statute Section 380.384 and Section 168.302

 


About the district

School board

New Buffalo Area Schools consists of seven members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameYear assumed officeYear term ends
Stephen Donnelly2030
John Haskins2030
Jennifer Summers2030
Greg Vosberg2030
Denise Churchill2028
Vanessa Thun2028
Lisa Werner2026

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District map

Overlapping state house districts

New Buffalo Area Schools
Office NameCurrent OfficeholderParty% School District Covered% Other District Covered
Michigan House of Representatives District 38Joey AndrewsDemocratic Party 100% 1%

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.[1]

Revenue, 2020-2021
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $1,119,000 $1,974 6%
Local: $14,182,000 $25,012 83%
State: $1,847,000 $3,257 11%
Total: $17,148,000 $30,243
Expenditures, 2020-2021
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $16,658,000 $29,379
Total Current Expenditures: $14,804,000 $26,109
Instructional Expenditures: $7,582,000 $13,372 46%
Student and Staff Support: $1,393,000 $2,456 8%
Administration: $2,561,000 $4,516 15%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $3,268,000 $5,763 20%
Total Capital Outlay: $1,526,000 $2,691
Construction: $0 $0
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $309,000 $544
Interest on Debt: $0 $0

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."[2]

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 58 PS <50 40-49 >=50 60-64
2018-2019 61 PS <50 40-49 >=50 60-64
2017-2018 45 PS PS 21-39 <50 45-49
2016-2017 53 >=50 <50 21-39 >=50 55-59
2015-2016 49 PS <50 21-39 <50 50-54
2014-2015 46 PS <50 <=20 PS >=50 45-49
2013-2014 43 PS <50 21-39 <50 45-49
2012-2013 41 PS <50 <=20 PS >=50 40-44
2011-2012 35 <50 <50 <50 <50 35-39
2010-2011 84 >=50 >=50 >=50 PS >=50 80-84

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 64 PS <50 40-49 <50 70-74
2018-2019 71 PS <50 60-69 >=50 70-74
2017-2018 50 PS PS 40-59 <50 50-54
2016-2017 64 >=50 <50 40-59 <50 65-69
2015-2016 58 PS <50 21-39 <50 60-64
2014-2015 60 PS <50 40-59 PS >=50 60-64
2013-2014 80 PS <50 60-79 >=50 80-84
2012-2013 75 PS >=50 21-39 PS >=50 75-79
2011-2012 77 >=50 >=50 >=50 >=50 75-79
2010-2011 89 >=50 >=50 >=50 PS >=50 85-89

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 80-89 PS PS PS PS >=90
2018-2019 >=90 PS PS PS >=90
2017-2018 70-79 PS PS PS 70-79
2016-2017 >=90 PS PS PS PS >=90
2015-2016 90-94 PS PS PS PS >=90
2014-2015 >=90 PS PS >=90
2013-2014 80-89 PS PS PS PS 80-89
2012-2013 85-89 PS PS PS 80-89
2011-2012 80-84 PS PS PS PS PS 80-89
2010-2011 >=95 PS PS PS >=90

Students

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2022-2023 536 -3.4
2021-2022 554 -2.3
2020-2021 567 -2.1
2019-2020 579 5.9
2018-2019 545 -4.4
2017-2018 569 -3.7
2016-2017 590 -3.4
2015-2016 610 6.2
2014-2015 572 -5.2
2013-2014 602 -8.3
2012-2013 652 4.3
2011-2012 624 -2.7
2010-2011 641 -4.1
2009-2010 667 0.6
2008-2009 663 0.2
2007-2008 662 -2.1
2006-2007 676 1.9
2005-2006 663 -3.6
2004-2005 687 -0.4
2003-2004 690 3.5
2002-2003 666 4.7
2001-2002 635 1.1
2000-2001 628 2.2
1999-2000 614 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2022-2023
RACE New Buffalo Area Schools (%) Michigan K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.4 0.6
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 1.1 3.6
Black 2.8 18.1
Hispanic 11.2 8.9
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.4 0.1
Two or More Races 3.2 5.1
White 81.0 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.[4]

As of the 2022-2023 school year, New Buffalo Area Schools had 50.30 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 10.66.

Teachers, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 1.00
Kindergarten: 2.00
Elementary: 17.00
Secondary: 26.00
Total: 50.30

New Buffalo Area Schools employed 5.70 district administrators and 5.00 school administrators as of the 2022-2023 school year.

Administrators, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 5.70
District Administrative Support: 1.00
School Administrators: 5.00
School Administrative Support: 9.00
Other staff, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 0.00
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 4.00
Total Guidance Counselors: 2.00
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 1.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 1.00
Librarians/Media Specialists: 1.00
Library/Media Support: 0.00
Student Support Services: 7.50
Other Support Services: 27.10

Schools

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]

New Buffalo Area Schools operates three schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
New Buffalo Elementary School220PK-5
New Buffalo Middle School1386-8
New Buffalo Senior High School1789-12

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
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External links

  • Office website
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  • Footnotes