Growing Interest in School Board Elections

We’ve heard it said if you want to really understand how local government works (or doesn’t work), get elected to a local school board. It’s an odd-numbered year, so it’s time once again for board of education races across the state.

What are the qualifications for the job? In order to run for your local school board you must be:

• a U.S. citizen,
• 18 years of age or older,
• a resident of Ohio for at least 30 days preceding the election,
• a resident of the school district for at least 30 days preceding the election,
• registered to vote in the school district for at least 30 days preceding the election

Hmm. Not such a high bar, is it?

If you’re thinking there’s more interest in local board of education elections this year, you may be right. A post on www.joannejacobs.com suggests that some parents are not completely happy with decisions by their local school board.

Whether we’re talking about keeping schools closed, remote learning, racism, testing, or school choice, parents may be more electorally involved this year.

Interested in running for your local school board? Your first step is obtaining a petition and having the minimum number of registered voters sign the petition. Blank petitions are available from your county board of elections or the Ohio Secretary of State’s office. The minimum number of signatures depends on the type of school district and population.

Local and exempted village school district 25 valid signatures
City (population under 20,000) 25 valid signatures
City (population 20,000 to 49,999) 75 valid signatures
City (population 50,000 to 99,999) 150 valid signatures
City (population greater than 100,000) 300 valid signatures

Completed petitions must be filed with your county board of elections by 4 p.m. on August 4, 2021.  The cost to file petitions is $30.

If you’re new to this, your county board of elections will walk you through the process.

Good luck!