Waterford School District elections (2016)
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Three of the seven seats on the Waterford School District school board were up for general election on November 8, 2016. Incumbents Robert Petrusha, Bob Piggott, and Robert Seeterlin filed for re-election. They faced challengers Mary Barghahn, Paul Greenawalt, Jon Knapp, and Eric Lindemier. Petrusha, Barghahn, and Piggott won in the general election.[1] Find out how Waterford's school board races stack up with other Michigan school districts here.
Five of the seven candidates in this election completed Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. Learn more about the candidates' stances on issues facing the district here.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Waterford Board of Education consists of seven members elected at large to six-year terms. Michigan school board candidates had to file with their county elections department during the candidate filing period, which concluded on July 26, 2016. The deadline to withdraw from the election was July 29, 2016. Candidates needed to submit nominating petitions with signatures from district residents or $100 non-refundable deposits to reach the ballot. The deadline for voters to register for the election was October 11, 2016.[2]
Candidates and results
At-large
Results
| Waterford School District, At-Large General Election, 6-year terms, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Robert Petrusha Incumbent |
19.50% | 12,298 |
| Mary Barghahn |
17.23% | 10,867 |
| Bob Piggott Incumbent |
15.83% | 9,988 |
| Robert Seeterlin Incumbent | 14.48% | 9,132 |
| Jon Knapp | 13.71% | 8,650 |
| Eric Lindemier | 11.67% | 7,362 |
| Paul Greenawalt | 7.08% | 4,465 |
| Write-in votes | 0.5% | 318 |
| Total Votes | 63,080 | |
| Source: Oakland County Elections Division, "November 8, 2016 General Election," November 22, 2016 | ||
Candidates
Robert Petrusha 
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Bob Piggott
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Robert Seeterlin | |||
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| Mary Barghahn
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Paul Greenawalt | ||
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| Jon Knapp | Eric Lindemier | ||
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Additional elections
- See also: Michigan elections, 2016
School board elections in Michigan shared the ballot with races for president of the United States, U.S. House seats, and state legislative seats.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for Michigan school board elections in 2016:[3]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| July 26, 2016 | Candidate filing deadline |
| July 29, 2016 | Deadline for candidates to withdraw from ballot |
| October 11, 2016 | Voter registration deadline for general election |
| October 28, 2016 | Pre-election campaign finance reporting deadline |
| November 8, 2016 | General election |
| December 8, 2016 | Post-election campaign finance reporting deadline |
Endorsements
Paul Greenawalt was endorsed in the election by local organization Waterford Forward.[4]
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
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.[3]
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.[5]
October 28 filing
Candidates received a total of $7,117.95 and spent a total of $5,067.09 as of October 30, 2016, according to the Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds.[6]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Petrusha (incumbent) | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Bob Piggott (incumbent) | $797.95 | $782.09 | $15.86 |
| Robert Seeterlin (incumbent) | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Mary Barghahn | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Paul Greenawalt | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Jon Knapp | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Eric Lindemier | $6,320.00 | $4,285.00 | $2,035.00 |
Past elections
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What was at stake?
Election trends
Waterford's 2016 school board elections featured fewer candidates per seat than the district's 2014 elections. Voters saw 2.33 candidates per seat up for election in 2016, while the 2014 ballot featured three candidates per seat. The district's 2016 elections surpassed the 2.3 candidates per seat average for all Michigan school board elections covered by Ballotpedia. Waterford's three candidates per seat in 2014 exceeded the 2.09 candidates per seat for Michigan districts in Ballotpedia's coverage. The following table compares candidates per seat in 2014 and 2016 for school board elections covered by Ballotpedia in Michigan and the United States:
Candidate survey
Survey responses
Five candidates in this race participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display the responses to the survey questions from Robert Petrusha, Bob Piggott, Robert Seeterlin, Paul Greenawalt, and Eric Lindemier.
Hope to achieve
When asked what he hoped to achieve if elected to the school board, Petrusha stated:
| “ | For a safe and caring environment for all students and staff to learn and grow in. A destination for young family's, a school district that the Waterford community can be proud of.[7] | ” |
| —Robert Petrusha (September 9, 2016)[8] | ||
When asked what he hoped to achieve if elected to the school board, Piggott stated:
| “ | To make sure we have the best resources available in our classroom to prepare our kids to be successful for the rest of their lives. To improve the image of our district which will attract young families to move into and invest into our community. To provide safe buildings and a safe environment for our children. Work as a team with our entire staff, our parents and our community to make the Waterford School District the best district in not only the State of Michigan, but in the United States. If we work together, there is nothing that we cannot achieve.[7] | ” |
| —Bob Piggott (October 11, 2016)[9] | ||
When asked what he hoped to achieve if elected to the school board, Seeterlin stated:
| “ | Continued improvement. We have improved leadership over the past few years. The new focus on student learning and accountability for student growth is making Waterford Schools a better district. Investments in capital improvements - Thanks to voter support - will put Waterford in a better position to help students in the years to come.[7] | ” |
| —Robert Seeterlin (September 6, 2016)[10] | ||
When asked what he hoped to achieve if elected to the school board, Greenawalt stated:
| “ | I Paul J. Greenawalt believe we need to expand our education system to teach useful things that children can use. Much time is spent on teaching minds what to learn. Not teaching minds how to think. Once somebody knows how to think, nobody can stop them.[7] | ” |
| —Paul Greenawalt (September 5, 2016)[11] | ||
When asked what he hoped to achieve if elected to the school board, Lindemier stated:
| “ | We need Waterford to become a "District of Destination" We need to work with the community to create a plan to retain and attract students to the district.[7] | ” |
| —Eric Lindemier (September 27, 2016)[12] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidates were asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays their rankings:
| Issue importance ranking | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issue | Petrusha's ranking | Piggott's ranking | Seeterlin's ranking | Greenawalt's ranking | Lindemier's ranking |
| Expanding arts education | |||||
| Improving relations with teachers | |||||
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |||||
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |||||
| Closing the achievement gap | |||||
| Improving education for special needs students | |||||
| Expanding school choice options | |||||
Positions on the issues
The candidates were asked to answer nine multiple choice and short answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. A link to their responses can be found below.
- Robert Petrusha's survey responses
- Bob Piggott's survey responses
- Robert Seeterlin's survey responses
- Paul Greenawalt's survey responses
- Eric Lindemier's survey responses
About the district
- See also: Waterford School District, Michigan
Waterford School District is located in Oakland County in southeastern Michigan. The county seat is Pontiac. Oakland County was home to 1,242,304 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[13] The district was the 18th-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 10,287 students.[14]
Demographics
Oakland County outperformed Michigan as a whole in terms of higher education achievement from 2010 to 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 43.7 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 26.4 percent of state residents. The median household income for Oakland County was $66,436, compared to $49,087 for the entire state. The percentage of people below poverty level was 10.0 percent for the county, while it was 16.2 percent statewide.[13]
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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.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Waterford School District' 'Michigan'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Waterford School District | Michigan | School Boards |
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External links
- Waterford School District
- Oakland County, Michigan
- Oakland County Clerk
- Michigan Department of Education
- Michigan Association of School Boards
Footnotes
- ↑ Oakland County Elections Division, "Unofficial Candidate List," August 19, 2016
- ↑ Wayne County Clerk, "Elections Division-Voter and Candidate Information," accessed August 1, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Michigan Bureau of Elections, "2016 and 2017 Campaign Finance Filing Schedule," January 12, 2016
- ↑ Facebook, "Waterford Forward," accessed November 2, 2016
- ↑ Genesee County, "Filing Requirements under Michigan's Campaign Finance Act," February 7, 2014
- ↑ Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds, "Campaign Finance Reporting System," accessed October 30, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey, "Robert Petrusha's responses," September 9, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey, "Bob Piggott's responses," October 11, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey, "Robert Seeterlin's responses," September 6, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey, "Paul Greenawalt's responses," September 5, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey, "Eric Lindemier's responses," September 27, 2016
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 United States Census Bureau, "Oakland County, Michigan," accessed September 24, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ Secretary of State - Department of State, "Previous Election Information," accessed August 1, 2014
| 2016 Waterford School District Elections | |
| Oakland County, Michigan | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Robert Petrusha • Incumbent, Bob Piggott • Incumbent, Robert Seeterlin • Mary Barghahn • Paul Greenawalt • Jon Knapp • Eric Lindemier |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
