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Rules governing school board election dates and timing in Oregon

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Rules governing school board elections

Oregon overview:

Election dates: Off cycle
• Party labels: No; nonpartisan
• System: General only


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 Oregon are held on the Third Tuesday in May every two years in odd-numbered years.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Oregon Statutes Chapters 255 and 332

There were 196 public school districts in Oregon with a total of 1,129 school board member seats as of 2023. Those school districts operated a total of 1,245 schools serving 581,512 students.

You will find the following information on this page:

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 2023. Please email editor@ballotpedia.org with any updates, corrections, exceptions, or improvements.

Election dates and frequency

See also: Rules governing school board election dates and timing

School board general elections in Oregon are held on the Third Tuesday in May every two years in odd-numbered years.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Oregon Statutes Chapters 255 and 332

Recent or upcoming election dates for all public school districts in the state

Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all public 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: March 18, 2027
  • General election date: May 18, 2027

Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates

The deadline for school board candidates to file nominating petitions and declarations of candidacy is 61 days before the May general election in odd-numbered years. This means the school board candidate filing deadline is in mid-March in odd-numbered years. The filing window is 40 days long.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Oregon Statutes Section 255.235 

School board candidates cannot file nominating petitions and declarations of candidacy until 40 days before the filing deadline. The filing deadline is 61 days before the May general election, which means the window for candidates to file opens 101 days before the May general election in early February in odd-numbered years.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Oregon Statutes Section 255.235

The term of school board members officially expires on June 30 following the election of their replacements, which means the term of newly elected school board members officially begins on July 1 following their election to office.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Oregon Statutes Section 332.138

Election system

Types of elections

School board members in Oregon are elected through nonpartisan general elections without primaries.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Oregon Statutes Section 255.335

Party labels on the ballot

See also: Party labels in Oregon school board elections

School board elections in Oregon are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Statute governing nonpartisan elections governs the election procedures for school district board member elections and prohibits the inclusion of any information or designations on the ballot other than the names of the candidates.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Oregon Statutes Section 255.335

What it takes to win an election

The school board candidates that receive the largest number of votes in the nonpartisan general election are elected to office.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Oregon Statutes Section 332.124

Number, terms, and types of school board seats

Number of board members

School district boards have either five or seven members. Districts with populations of fewer than 300,000 can have either five board members or seven board members. Districts with populations of greater than 300,000 must have seven board members. As of 2022, 67 districts (39%) had seven board members, and 106 (61%) had five board members. One district, Sweet Home School District 55, had nine board members because of a state law requiring representation of each independent school district on the board of a consolidated school district. Sweet Home School District was consolidated from a large enough number of independent school districts that the representation requirement dictates nine board members instead of seven members.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Oregon Statutes Sections 332.011 and 332.015

Board member term lengths

School board members in Oregon have four-year terms.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Oregon Statutes Section 332.018

School board member election staggering

Oregon Statute states that each district must hold a school board election every two years to elect board members to four-year terms. Most districts elect as close to half of their board members as possible every two years.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Oregon Statute Section 255.335

Representation: elections at-large or by sub-districts

School board members in Oregon are elected by voters at large, by voters from zones (sub-districts), or through a combination of the two. Nominating petitions for school board candidates can also contain signatures from the district at large, from voters within sub-districts, or through a combination of the two. School board seats can be nominated from zones but elected at large. School board members are nominated and elected according to position numbers for both at-large seats and by-sub-district seats. School board members are elected at large by default. Zones (sub-districts) for nominating petitions can be established through school board resolution or petition and voter approval processes. Once sub-districts for nominating petitions are established, the school board can also vote to establish that positions nominated by voters from sub-districts must also be elected by voters from those sub-districts.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Oregon Statutes Chapter 332

How does Oregon 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

School board election rules:

School board election coverage:

Terms and context:


Footnotes