Fact Sheet: Local School Board Elections Matter

In the never-ending stream of political news, knowledge of local school board elections often falls by the wayside. But local school boards play an important role in U.S. communities, a role that deserves the same level of attention as other elections. This fact sheet lays out five reasons every American should make their voice heard in their local school board elections.

1. Every vote counts

Every year, more than 82,000 school board members—the nation’s largest group of elected officials—make impactful decisions regarding the nation’s children and their futures. Yet local school board elections are often decided by a small margin of the communities that school boards represent. Voter turnout in local school board elections is estimated to be around only 5 percent to 10 percent. As a result, each vote is incredibly powerful. For example, a Center for American Progress analysis found that more than one-third of Virginia school board elections in 2023 were decided by fewer than 500 votes.

2. Local school boards have power

Overall, local school boards oversee the 50 million children in U.S. K-12 public schools and make decisions that directly affect schools and the quality of education they provide. Local school boards are often responsible for:

• Drawing school boundaries, which determine which students have access to which schools and can limit opportunities for low-income students and students of color.
• Approving budgets, which can affect the number of high-quality staff and availability of extracurricular activities and courses.
• Hiring district officials, who have considerable influence over curricula and professional development.
• Authorizing charter schools by granting or denying applications, monitoring performance, and ensuring compliance.

3. Representation matters

School boards do not represent the full spectrum of their diverse communities. Despite the fact that 56 percent of public school students are nonwhite, school board officials are 78 percent white, and 68 percent have no children in school. Representation on local school boards matters. Better representation can lead to positive impacts for all students, including increased investments in schools and academic performance. Recruiting more diverse candidates to run for school board; aligning school board elections with federal election cycles to help increase voter turnout; and transitioning to more representative election systems, such as proportional ranked choice voting, can each help school boards better reflect and represent the communities they serve.

4. National groups are using school boards to push harmful agendas

Local school boards are becoming the battlefield for a modern culture war. Far-right groups are using these elections to push their agendas onto communities, focusing on book bans and restricting LGBTQI+ rights, while letting teacher shortages and other educational necessities languish.

5. School boards help strengthen communities

Strong public school systems have a drastic effect on the strength of communities, with high-quality public schools contributing to better educational, social, and health outcomes. High-quality schools attract families and businesses, decrease crime, and increase property values. Every vote in a local school board election is vital to holding school board officials accountable for children’s futures and the well-being of communities.