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Hall Pass - January 7, 2026

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Ballotpedia's Hall Pass


Your Ticket to Understanding School Board Politics



Welcome to Hall Pass, a newsletter written to keep you plugged into the conversations driving  school board governance, the politics surrounding it, and education policy. 

In today’s edition, you’ll find:

  • On the issues: The debate over closing low-enrollment schools 
  • School board filing deadlines, election results, and recall certifications
  • After tripling during pandemic, school board recall efforts return to historical average  
  • Extracurricular: education news from around the web
  • Candidate Connection survey

Reply to this email to share reactions or story ideas!

On the issues: The debate over closing low-enrollment schools

In this section, we curate reporting, analysis, and commentary on the issues school board members deliberate when they set out to offer the best education possible in their district. Missed an issue? Click here to see the previous education debates we’ve covered.

Between 2019 and 2023, enrollment in public schools fell about 2.5%, from 50.8 million students to 49.5 million, leading some district officials to grapple with closing low-enrollment schools to save money. Declining birth rates, competition from private and charter schools and homeschooling, and in some cases federal immigration enforcement have contributed to declining attendance in many—though not all—states in recent years. 

Enrollment has fallen in districts of all sizes, from Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the nation’s second-largest, to smaller rural districts around the country. Plans to close or merge local schools can prompt resistance from communities, sometimes leading districts to delay or call off those decisions. 

How should school boards weigh the costs and benefits of closing low-enrollment schools?

Bates College Professor of Education Mara C. Tieken says school closures often harm communities and students, especially those attending majority Black schools, and fail to address the underlying structural issues that she says have left public schools underfunded. Tieken says research suggests district officials overestimate the extent to which closures save money. Tieken argues that if closures must happen, district officials should work closely with families and the wider community to take into account the less tangible benefits schools provide and ensure all students benefit from the changes. 

Fordham Institute President Michael J. Petrilli says school closures will be unavoidable in an environment of declining enrollment, and that, when done well, those closures can benefit students and communities. Petrilli argues the research suggests students benefit from closures when they end up in better-performing schools, including charter schools, and that district officials must work with families to provide and identify those high-quality alternatives. 

Don’t Fall for the School Closure Temptation | Mara Casey Tieken, Washington Monthly

“Closing schools also negatively affects students. Many spend more time commuting—sometimes over four hours daily—reducing time for extracurricular activities or family dinners. This travel can be dangerous, especially through neighborhoods with higher crime rates or over risky mountain passes. Absenteeism and behavioral problems tend to rise. Studies indicate short-term declines in achievement test scores. In the long run, school closures can harm college completion, job prospects, and earnings.

Closures hurt communities, too. When a school closes, local jobs are lost, and businesses that depend on a nearby school—such as local diners, banks, and gas stations—may also close. Families move to be closer to their children’s school. Schools are also places where people gather, engage politically, and make memories. It’s no wonder that school closures often face fierce resistance—even hunger strikes.”

The case for closing underenrolled, low-performing schools | Michael J. Petrilli, Fordham Institute

“Do students suffer when their schools are closed—either for low performance, as occasionally happened in the No Child Left Behind era, or for underenrollment? This is a question that has been studied extensively over the past few decades, and the somewhat exasperating answer is: It depends. Specifically, it depends on whether the affected students land in higher-performing schools. If so, they tend to do better, at least in the long run. If not, they do worse. (That’s the case for charter school closures, as well.)”

“There’s also better-than-expected news for affected communities. While local residents understandably worry that a shuttered school will signal (continued) decline in their neighborhood, at least one study in Philadelphia found that crime, especially violent crime, declined significantly when high schools with high rates of student misbehavior and low academic performance were closed.”  

School board update: filing deadlines, election results, and recall certifications

In 2026, Ballotpedia will cover elections for more than 30,000 school board seats. We’re expanding our coverage each year with our eye on covering the country’s more than 80,000 school board seats.    

Below is an early look at the elections coming down the pike in the first part of this year.

Upcoming school board elections

  • Oklahoma: School districts across the state will hold primaries on Feb. 10 and general elections on April 7. In Oklahoma, elections are canceled if only one candidate runs for a seat. If there are two candidates, the primary is canceled and both advance to a general election. If there are more than two candidates, a candidate can win the primary outright with more than 50% of the vote. When that doesn’t happen, the two top vote-getters advance to the general.
  • Arkansas: Ballotpedia will cover general elections for all seven of the seats on the Little Rock School District school board on March 3. Little Rock School District is the second largest in the state, with roughly 21,000 students. 
  • North Carolina: Ballotpedia will cover elections for several districts, including Guilford County Schools and Union County Public Schools, on March 3. 

After tripling during pandemic, school board recall efforts return to historical average  

Ballotpedia recently released our annual report on recall campaigns in which we covered 30 recall efforts against 57 school board officials in 2025. School board recall efforts reached a record high in 2021, when campaigns targeted 237 officials in 92 efforts. That year, school board members were the most targeted for recalls across all office types. 

Since then, the number of such efforts has declined each year.

In 2024 and 2023, we covered 40 recall efforts against 82 school board officials and 48 efforts against 97 officials, respectively. 

In 2025, voters removed four of the 57 targeted officials — a 7% success rate. That’s the lowest since 2021, when voters removed 0.4% (one of 237) of officials named in petitions. In both 2024 and 2023, voters removed 13.4% of targeted school board members. 

Voters approved recalls against three board members on April 22, 2025, and June 10, 2025. One recall election against a board member was approved on Nov. 4, 2025, while one recall effort was defeated. Recall elections against three other members were also held on Nov. 18, with voters retaining all three members.

Recall efforts against school board members took place in 12 states in 2025. California and Arizona had the most recall campaigns, with eight and six, respectively. In 2024, California and Michigan saw the most efforts aimed at school board members, with 12 and nine, respectively.

Noteworthy 2025 school board recalls

Liberty Elementary School District recall, Arizona: An effort to recall Michael Todd from the Liberty Elementary School District Governing Board began in October 2025. Organizers have until Jan. 31, 2026, to collect the 2,943 signatures required to trigger a recall election. The group Together for Liberty is organizing the recall effort. Together for Liberty says Todd has “shown a lack of transparency, integrity, and commitment to student-first leadership” and that “the district has suffered instability, financial mismanagement, and loss of community trust” under Todd’s direction

In response, Todd said the recall was initiated “by a fringe group of disgruntled former employees and activists who are not interested in holding administrators and teachers to account for low student proficiency.” Todd also wrote that "Every policy and direction of this Board is to ensure the highest quality of education, accountability and safety of our students. I am committed to do everything necessary to make that happen.”

This is the fourth recall effort in the district since 2021. None of those efforts went to a vote.

Park Ridge Public Schools recall, New Jersey: An effort to recall Park Ridge Public Schools Board of Education Robert Fisher began in April 2025. The effort ended on Sept. 19, when Fisher resigned. Recall supporters alleged Fisher, who was elected unopposed in 2023, was a full-time college student in Tennessee and “Won't serve on committees. Won't show up for our town. That's not leadership.” 

Fisher told Ballotpedia, “I am a resident of the borough, graduated from PRHS in 2023, and have lived here for years. It's no secret that I attend Vanderbilt in Nashville during the academic year, but I spend my time and money flying back to Park Ridge for Board of Education meetings during the semesters, and live in town during breaks. I've spent thousands and travelled tens of thousands of miles because our community deserves higher-performing schools, lower taxes, and a school board that works for Park Ridgers, not special interests.”

Overview of 2025 recalls

Although school board recall efforts declined in 2025 compared to 2024, total recall efforts across all office types actually increased. In 2025, there were 278 recall efforts against 392 elected officials, up from 248 against 387 officials in 2024. 

In 2025, city council members faced more recall efforts than any other group. City council members have faced the most recall efforts in every year since 2016, except for 2021 when efforts to recall school board members outpaced any other group as the country confronted the coronavirus pandemic. School board members faced the second most recall efforts in every year between 2016-2024 except 2021 and 2017. In 2017, mayors and city council members both faced more.

Across all office types, recall elections removed 11% of officials included in recall efforts in 2025. This was the third-lowest percentage of officials removed from office that Ballotpedia has tracked. The highest occurred in 2018 with 26%, and the lowest occurred in 2021 with 5%.

Thirty-nine states allow voters to recall local officials. Nineteen of those states also have recalls for state officials. Eleven states do not allow voters to recall any elected officeholders. Some states require sufficient reason to hold a recall election, which can include abuse of power, malfeasance, or failure to perform prescribed duties. Other states do not require any grounds for recall.

Extracurricular: education news from around the web

This section contains links to recent education-related articles from around the internet. If you know of a story we should be reading, reply to this email to share it with us! 

Take our Candidate Connection survey to reach voters in your district

We’re highlighting noteworthy or thought-provoking responses to our Candidate Connection survey from last year’s school board election winners. The responses illuminate the range of experiences and viewpoints these elected officials bring to their districts.

If you're a school board candidate or incumbent planning to run in 2026, click here to take the survey. The survey contains more than 30 questions, and you can choose the ones you feel will best represent your views to voters. If you complete the survey, a box with your answers will appear in your Ballotpedia profile. Your responses will also appear in our sample ballot.

If there is an election next year in your community, share the link with your candidates and urge them to take the survey!

Hadley Solomon is a member of the St. Vrain Valley School District Board of Education in Colorado. Solomon defeated Peggy Kelly 66-34% in the Nov. 4, 2025, general election, and she assumed office on Dec. 3. Solomon’s career experience includes working as a consultant. 

Here’s how Solomon answered the question, “What role should artificial intelligence have in your school district?” 

“AI should help teachers, not replace them. It can reduce workload, personalize learning, and help students practice skills, but it must protect student privacy and stay aligned to district values. The board’s role is to:

- set guardrails

- fund training for teachers

- and make sure AI is used to keep learning human centered.”

Click here to read the rest of Solomon’s responses. 

Lesley Guilmart is a member of the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District in Texas. She defeated Radele Walker and Terrance Edmond in the Nov. 4, 2025 general election, and was sworn in on Dec. 11. Her career experience includes working as an educator.

Here’s how Guilmart answered the question, “Candidates hear many personal stories from voters. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching or memorable?”

“A CFISD teacher shared with me the increasing control she and her colleagues are experiencing this school year from the district. They don't have the autonomy they used to over texts, assignments, or pacing. Another teacher shared with me that she and her colleagues are afraid to bring up relevant current events in class - in fact, their instructional leaders discourage them from doing so. Both teachers shared that district administrators point to the Board of Trustees when asked where these changes are coming from. It is not the job of the Board to dictate day-to-day functioning of the school district. Furthermore, most of the current trustees are not professional educators, so they're not even qualified to do so. It's time to elect trustees who respect the professionalism of our educators and let them teach our students at an appropriate pace using engaging, up-to-date resources. Teachers who feel set up for failure and micromanaged will not want to continue working in our district for long. It is urgent that we do away with this climate of fear in our school district.”

Click here to read the rest of Guilmart’s responses.

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