What drives someone to run for school board? Report cards, taxes, ‘woke ideology’: Election 2025

Lee Hannah, a political science professor at Wright State University, speculates the surge of interest in school board races is an outgrowth of the pandemic and the focus it put on schools. Schools have become the focus for major political parties, he noted, and even played a role in the 2021 Virginia governor’s race.

“Many people became much more aware of school policies, leaders, and curriculum when they were directly affected — either through witnessing teachers and curriculum through school from home or through forming opinions on the school’s policies about masking, social distancing, opening closing, sports, etc.,” Hannah said.

Credit: Erin Pence

Credit: Erin Pence

What local candidates said

This news outlet surveyed school board candidates in contested elections across six counties — Montgomery, Miami, Greene, Warren, Butler and Clark — and many of them offered similar ideas.

The most common responses on what board members wanted to see improved in schools was either continued good stewardship of school funds from taxes or better stewardship of funds. All four candidates for three seats on the Centerville School Board, for example, referenced school finances as one of their top three priorities.

Some candidates discussed not just how they can be good stewards of their local school dollars, but ensuring the state is fairly paying them. In both Oakwood and Beavercreek, wealthier districts with a higher tax base, candidates said the current state system for school funding hurts their voters.

Maintaining or improving district scores on state report cards was explicitly mentioned by candidates in Bethel, Covington, Fairfield, Hamilton, Lebanon, Springfield and Xenia schools.

Other common candidate responses included:

Some of those priorities are tied, with some board members saying recruiting and retaining qualified teachers would lead to better outcomes for students.

Religion has become more of an issue in schools in the last five years, though there is a geographic divide. Local candidates for large suburban and urban districts were less likely to mention Christianity in writing their Voters Guide answers. But township school board candidates and those in smaller cities were more likely to bring it up.

One candidate for Lebanon School Board listed “Protecting children from woke ideology” among her top priorities if elected.

Hannah said board of education elections matter because board members make critical decisions that impact the quality of education in a district.

“Their decisions can impact their ability to hire good teachers, provide appropriate services, etc.,” Hannah said. “Even longer-term, the quality and reputation of school districts impacts property values and other community standards.”

Political makeup of school boards

While school board races are nominally nonpartisan, board members’ views can influence the way the district runs.

The Fordham report looked at thousands of districts nationwide and found that there are similar amounts of Democrats, Republicans and moderates on school boards as reflective of the general population. But board members in big urban districts, which are where most students attend, tend to be more liberal.

The study found that about 65% of school board members share a party affiliation with the majority of the voters in their district, but those board members represent about 71% of students, meaning they were more likely to be in an urban district.

“This pattern suggests that board–citizen mismatches are not the norm but they are also not uncommon," the authors of the study wrote. “Moreover, these mismatches may be more common in less populated districts.”

Only two candidates in this six-county region made it a point to note their political party in Voters Guide responses to this news outlet. Both are running for Lebanon School Board and both identify as “conservative Republican.”

Contested school board races in November election: