Becoming a School Board Candidate
What does the school board do?
The board's main responsibility is setting district policies. The board has one employee, the superintendent, who in turn hires staff. Board members also:
- Establish and adopt the district budget
- Approve curriculum adoptions
- Set goals, evaluate progress towards those goals
- Ask voters to approve bond measures and local option levies
- Advocate with the legislature on behalf of the district's students
- Guide collective bargaining
- Evaluate the superintendent
How do I become a school board candidate?
Board members are elected to four-year terms. You must be a registered voter and you must have lived in the district for one year immediately preceding the election. School district employees elected to serve must give up district employment to sit on the board.
How do I file?
The filing period for the next election will be February 2025; candidates must file in Washington County.
What do I need to know before I start campaigning?
State law limits the sources and amounts of contributions and the purposes for which those contributions may be spent. Contact the Secretary of State Elections Division online or at 503-986-1518 for guidance.
How are school board members of color supported?
Oregon School Boards Association established the Oregon School Board Members of Color Caucus in 2016. Members have identified their mission as "to promote quality education for all students with an emphasis on the unique needs of students of color".