YES! You should consider running for school board 🤩 Do you have a passion for high-quality public education and want to ensure that all students receive an honest education in safe, affirming schools? Ohio needs bold, courageous leaders like you sharing their valuable expertise, experience, and talent on local school boards.  As a board member, you can be a voice for countless families in your community by guiding important decisions about policy, curriculum, funding, and more. Most important, you can help build strong, healthy relationships with families, educators, and administrators. 

Contact the organizations below to learn more about school board qualifications, core competencies, and how to run a successful campaign.

OSBA 
​School board role and duties, eligibility,  training, etc.
School Board School
School board duties, governance, advocacy, community building
LEAD Ohio
School board election campaigns 
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​Who is eligible to run for school board? 
​Source: Ohio School Boards Association

School board candidate eligibility requirements
  • a U.S. citizen,
  • at least 18 years old,
  • a resident of the state 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.

Conflicts of interest
There are conflicts of interest of which all board members must be aware to prevent jeopardizing their reputation or that of the school district. In addition to actions and relationships prohibited by school statutes, other prohibitions are set out in criminal statutes and statutes enforced by the Ohio Ethics Commission (OEC). Please note that these statutes need to be read together. Even though under one statute there may not be a conflict, there could be a conflict under another.

Among the statutory prohibitions are:
  • No member shall have, directly or indirectly, any pecuniary interest in any contract of the board or be employed for compensation by the board of which he or she is a member (Ohio Revised Code (RC) 3313.33).
  • No member of a school board may knowingly authorize or employ the authority or influence of his or her office to secure authorization of any public contract in which he or she, a member of his or her family or any of his or her business associates have an interest (RC 2921.42).
  • No board member may use or authorize the use of the authority or influence of his or her office to secure anything of value, or the promise of anything of value, or solicit or accept anything of value, that is of such a character as to manifest a substantial and improper influence upon him or her with respect to his or her duties (RC 102.03).

The above list is neither all-inclusive nor does it list the many exceptions to these laws. They also are subject to interpretation by the courts, Ohio Attorney General’s Office and OEC. If you think you may have a potential conflict of interest, please check with your board counsel, county prosecutor or city law director, or contact OEC at (614) 466-7090.

Compatibility of public offices and positions
If you already are a public employee or officeholder, a position on a board of education may be incompatible with your current position. Before seeking election, potential candidates should make certain they are eligible to serve. An index of opinions discussing compatibility of offices is available on the Ohio attorney general’s website. Contact the Ohio attorney general at (800) 282-0515 or OSBA at (614) 540-4000 or (800) 589-OSBA for more information. 

How do I file?
A candidate must file a petition to run for a seat on a board of education. This petition must be filed with the candidate's county board of elections in early August or by the 90th day before the November general election (RC 3513.254, 3513.255). 

Signature requirements vary: Local and exempted village district petitions must have 25 valid signatures (RC 3513.254). A candidate in a city district with a population under 20,000 must have 25 valid signatures; a population of 20,000 to 49,999, 75 valid signatures; a population of 50,000 to 99,999, 150 valid signatures; a population of 100,000 or more, 300 valid signatures (RC 3513.254). Educational service center governing board candidates must have 50 valid signatures (RC 3513.255).

Contact your local board of elections or the Ohio Secretary of State Office for more information.​