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Rules governing school board election dates and timing in Michigan
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| Michigan overview: • Election dates: On cycle |
| Key policies: • Election dates and timing • Party labels on the ballot |
| Key terms • On-cycle elections • Off-cycle elections • Off-year elections • Off-date elections • Party labels • Partisan elections • Nonpartisan elections |
School board general elections in Michigan are held on the first Tuesday after the First Monday in November every two years in even-numbered years.
See law:
Michigan Statute Section 380.384
There were 535 public school districts in Michigan with a total of 3,679 school board member seats as of 2022. Those school districts operated a total of 2,955 schools serving 1,299,574 students.
You will find the following information on this page:
- the timing and frequency of school board elections
- candidate filing deadlines
- the number of school board members
- the length of school board terms
- the way in which elections for different board seats are staggered
- how Michigan compares to other states
- when new board members officially take office.
Across the country, there are 13,024 public school districts governed by a total of about 82,600 board members. Most school board members are elected directly by voters, while a small number of districts have appointed school board members or a combination of appointed and elected school board members.
The timing of elections for school board members varies widely across states and even across districts in the same state in some cases. In 14 states, most school board elections are held on-cycle with federal elections in November of even-numbered years. Most school board elections in the other states are held off-cycle. This includes off-date elections—for example, elections held in the spring or summer—and off-year elections held in odd-numbered years.
On-cycle local elections have higher voter turnout than off-cycle local elections.
The information in this page was last updated in 2022. Please email editor@ballotpedia.org with any updates, corrections, exceptions, or improvements.
Election dates and frequency
School board general elections in Michigan are held on the first Tuesday after the First Monday in November every two years in even-numbered years.
See law:
Michigan Statute Section 380.384
Recent or upcoming election dates for all local school districts in the state
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all local school districts in the state. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.
- Filing deadline date: July 21, 2026
- General election date: November 3, 2026
Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates
School board candidates must file affidavits and nomination petitions or candidate filing fees by 4 p.m. on the 15th Tuesday before the November election. This means that the school board candidate filing deadline is in late July every even-numbered year.
See law: Michigan Statute Section 168.303
Newly elected school board members in Michigan officially take office on January 1 of the year following the election.
See law:
Michigan Statute Section 380.384 and Section 168.302
Election system
Types of elections
School board members in Michigan are elected through nonpartisan general elections without primaries.
See law:
Michigan Statute Section 380.384
Party labels on the ballot
School board elections in Michigan are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Michigan Election Law on school board candidate nominating petitions states, "(2)The nominating petition must be substantially in the form prescribed in section 544c, except that the petition must be nonpartisan." It also states, "At any regular election, the names of the several nonpartisan offices to be voted for shall be placed on a separate portion of the ballot containing no party designation in the following order: [...], and in a year in which an election for the office is held, local school district board member, metropolitan district officer, and district library board member."
See law:
Michigan Statute Section 168.303 and Section 168.699
What it takes to win an election
The candidate or candidates that receive the most votes in the nonpartisan general election are elected to office.
See law:
Michigan Statute Section 168.307
Number, terms, and types of school board seats
Number of board members
All school districts other community school districts in Michigan have by default the number of board members the districts had prior to 1996. District voters can approve a change to the number of board members through a ballot measure put on the ballot by the school board or through a signature petition. As of 2022, all but 28 school districts (5%) in the state had seven board members.
Community school districts in Michigan have seven board members.
See law: Michigan Statute Section 380.11a and Michigan Statute Section 380.384
Board member term lengths
All school districts other community school districts in Michigan have board member terms of either four or six years depending on the board by-laws. As of 2022, 60% of school districts in Michigan had six-year board member terms, and 40% -- including community school districts -- had four-year board member terms.
Community school districts in Michigan have four-year board member terms. Initial terms for the first board members of newly organized community school districts are two, four, or six years to stagger elections.
See law: Michigan Statute Section 380.11a and Michigan Statute Section 380.384
School board member election staggering
For community school districts in Michigan, as close to half of school board members as possible for each district are elected every two years, which means either three or four seats are up for election at each even-year election. At the first board member election after community school districts are first organized, all seven board member seats are elected. Two members are elected to two-year terms, three members are elected to four-year terms, and two members are elected to six-year terms, with higher vote totals dictating longer initial terms. After initial terms, all board members have four-year terms, which results in staggered elections: four seats up in one election and three seats up in the next election.
Michigan statute requires that at least one board member must be elected every two years at each regular even-year election. Specific seat staggering details for school districts other than community school districts are determined at the local level by the district board's bylaws. Most districts with four-year board member terms elect as close to half of board members as possible every two years. Most districts with six-year board member terms elect as close to one-third of board members as possible every two years.
See law: Michigan Statute Section 380.384 and Michigan Statute Section 168.301
Representation: elections at-large or by sub-districts
School board members in Michigan are elected at large by all voters in the district.
See law:
Michigan Statute Section 168.303, Section 168.307, and Section 380.384 (3)
How does Michigan compare to other states?
Across the country, there are 13,187 public school districts governed by a total of 83,183 school board members. They are elected directly by voters except for a small handful of exceptions who are appointed.
The analysis below is based on state laws governing school board elections and some researched common practices. In some states, the state law mandates a specific date. In others, the laws allow districts to choose their own election date from a range or a list of allowed dates or through charter provisions.
- 25 states have school board elections that are mostly held off cycle from federal elections. This includes both off-year and off-date elections.
- 10 of those states have school board elections that are mostly or at least commonly held on election dates in November of odd-numbered years.
- 16 of those states have school board elections mostly or at least commonly held on election dates that are not in November.
- 14 states have school board elections that are mostly held on cycle with federal elections in November of even-numbered years.
- 9 states either do not have state laws or overwhelmingly common practices that determine a specific school board election date or have varying school board election dates.
- Hawaii has a single, appointed school board.
See also
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School board election rules: |
School board election coverage: |
Terms and context: |
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Footnotes
