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Rules governing school board election dates and timing in Ohio
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| Ohio overview: • Election dates: Off 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 nonpartisan primary elections in Ohio are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in May every two years in odd-numbered years in districts that opt to hold primary elections.
School board general elections in Ohio are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in odd-numbered years every two years.
See law:
Ohio Statute Section 3501.01 and Ohio Statue Section 3501.01
There were 613 public school districts in Ohio with a total of 3,106 school board member seats as of 2022. Those school districts operated a total of 3,134 schools serving 1,580,272 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 Ohio 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 nonpartisan primary elections in Ohio are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in May every two years in odd-numbered years in districts that opt to hold primary elections. Only some school districts hold primary elections, while most do not.
School board general elections in Ohio are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in odd-numbered years every two years.
See law:
Ohio Statute Section 3501.01 and Ohio Statue Section 3501.01
Recent or upcoming election dates for all public school districts with elected board members in the state
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all public school districts with elected board members in the state. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.
- Primary election date: May 6, 2025
- General election date: November 4, 2025
Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates
School board candidates in districts that have opted to hold a primary election must file by 4:00 pm on the ninetieth day before the primary election. Most school districts do not hold a primary
School board candidates in districts that have not opted to hold a primary election must file by 4:00 pm on the ninetieth day before the general election.
See law: State Statute Section 3513.256 and State Statute Section 3513.256
Newly elected school board members officially take office on the first day of January following their election.
See law: State Statute Section 3313.09
Election system
Types of elections
School board members in Ohio are elected through nonpartisan general elections. School boards can adopt resolutions to hold nonpartisan primary elections. Only some school districts hold primary elections, while many do not.
As of 2022, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District was the only district classified as a municipal school district in Ohio. Its nine school board members are appointed by the mayor. School districts are classified as municipal school districts if they have been subject to "a federal court order requiring supervision and operational, fiscal, and personnel management of the district by the state superintendent of public instruction." State law requires a nine-member school board appointed by the mayor to control a municipal school district for four years after the district is released from the court order. After four years, a referendum is held for voters to decide whether to continue with an appointed board or to move to an elected board. In 2002, Cleveland voters approved a referendum to keep their school board appointed.
See law: Ohio Statue Section 3513.256 and Ohio Statute Section Section 3311.71
Party labels on the ballot
School board elections in Ohio are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Ohio Statute states, "The name of each candidate for member of a city, local, or exempted village board of education shall appear on the nonpartisan ballot." Statute governing the nonpartisan ballot lists the offices that must be included and states, "No name or designation of any political party nor any words, designations, or emblems descriptive of a candidate or the candidate's political affiliation, or indicative of the method by which such candidate was nominated or certified, shall be printed under or after any nonpartisan candidate's name which is printed on the ballot."
See law: Ohio Statue Section 3513.254 and Section 3505.04
What it takes to win an election
If a school district holds primaries, the candidates with the most votes advance to the general election. Candidates equaling twice the number of open seats on the board advance to the general election. The primary election is canceled unless more than twice as many candidates file as there are open seats on the board. School boards can adopt a resolution by a three-fifths vote to establish nonpartisan primary elections for board members.
The candidates with the most votes in the general election are elected to office.
See law: Ohio Statue Section 3513.256 and Ohio Statue Section 3313.02
Number, terms, and types of school board seats
Number of board members
The school boards of school districts classified as exempted village school districts have five members. As of 2022, there were 49 school districts classified as exempted village school districts in Ohio.
School boards must have between two and nine members depending on the type of district and how many at large and by district members the district has. As of 2022, 599 school districts (98%) had five board members and seven districts (1%) had seven board members.
The school boards of districts classified as city school districts can have between three and five members if the population is less than 50,000. City school district boards can have between two and seven members elected at large and not more than two additional members elected from sub-districts if the population is between 50,000 and 150,000. City school district boards can have between five and seven members if the population is more than 150,000. As of 2022, there were 181 school districts classified as city school districts in Ohio.
The school boards of districts classified as local school districts can have five or seven members. As of 2022, there were 366 school districts classified as local school districts in Ohio.
See law: Ohio Statue Section 3313.01 and Ohio Statue Section 3313.02
Board member term lengths
School board members have four-year terms.
See law: State Statute Section 3313.09
School board member election staggering
School districts elect as close as to half of their school board members as possible at one general election, and the other half at a general election two years later. Most school districts have five or seven school board members, so two members (or four on a seven-member board) are elected at one general election, and three members are elected at a general election two years later.
See law: Ohio Statue Section 3313.08
Representation: elections at-large or by sub-districts
School districts must elect all of their school board members at large from the whole district or, depending on the classification of the district, they can elect board members through a combination of some members elected at large and some members elected by sub-district. As of 2022, all public school districts elected their members at large only.
Schools classified as City School Districts can elect their school board members either at large or through a combination of members elected at large and members elected from sub-districts. As of 2022, all City School Districts elected their school board members at large only.
School districts classified as Local and Exempted Village Districts must elect all of their school board members at large from the whole district.
See law:
How does Ohio 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
