Rules governing school board election dates and timing in Wisconsin
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| Wisconsin 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 general elections in Wisconsin are held on the first Tuesday in April. The one first class city school district in the state, Milwaukee Public Schools, holds school board elections in odd-numbered years. All other school districts hold school board elections every year.
School board nonpartisan primary elections in Wisconsin are held on the third Tuesday in February. The one first class city school district in the state, Milwaukee Public Schools, holds school board elections every two years in odd-numbered years. All other school districts hold school board elections every year.
See law:
Wisconsin Statute Section 5.02(21) and Wisconsin Statute Section 5.02(22)
There were 420 public school districts in Wisconsin with a total of 2,794 school board member seats as of 2022. Those school districts operated a total of 2,173 schools serving 845,808 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin are held on the first Tuesday in April. The one first class city school district in the state, Milwaukee Public Schools, holds school board elections in odd-numbered years. All other school districts hold school board elections every year.
School board nonpartisan primary elections in Wisconsin are held on the third Tuesday in February. The one first class city school district in the state, Milwaukee Public Schools, holds school board elections every two years in odd-numbered years. All other school districts hold school board elections every year. School board primary elections are only held if there are more than two candidates running for any specific single-seat race or if the number of candidates running for multi-seat races is more than twice the number of seats up for election. Otherwise, the primary is canceled and candidates automatically advance to the general election ballot.
See law:
Wisconsin Statute Section 5.02(21) and Wisconsin Statute Section 5.02(22)
Recent or upcoming election dates for all school districts in the state except first class school districts (Milwaukee Public Schools)
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all school districts in the state except first class school districts (Milwaukee Public Schools). There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.
- Filing deadline date: January 6, 2026
- Primary election date: February 17, 2026
- General election date: April 7, 2026
Recent or upcoming election dates for first class city school districts, which are districts serving cities with a population of more than 150,000 (Milwaukee Public Schools is the only first class city school district)
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for first class city school districts, which are districts serving cities with a population of more than 150,000 (Milwaukee Public Schools is the only first class city school district). There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.
- Filing deadline date: January 5, 2027
- Primary election date: February 16, 2027
- General election date: April 6, 2027
Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates
School board candidates must file by 5:00 pm on the first Tuesday in January before elections, which are held every year.
First class city school district board candidates must file by 5:00 pm on the first Tuesday in January before elections, which are held in each odd-numbered year.
See law: Wisconsin Statute 8.10.2
School board candidates cannot circulate nominating petitions until after December 1 of the year before elections, which are held every year.
First class city school district board candidates cannot circulate nominating petitions until after December 1 of the year before elections, which are held in each odd-numbered year.
See law: Wisconsin Statute 8.10.2
New school board members officially take office on the fourth Monday in April.
See law: Wisconsin Statute 8.10.2
Election system
Types of elections
School board members in Wisconsin are elected through a system of a nonpartisan primary election and a nonpartisan general election. The primary election is only held if a large enough number of candidates run for office.
See law: Wisconsin Statute 8.10(2).a and Wisconsin Statute 120.41(1)
Party labels on the ballot
School board elections in Wisconsin are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Wisconsin Statute requires school board candidates to file nomination papers before the state's spring primary and for regular school board general elections to occur at the state's April spring election, which features nonpartisan races. Statute defines "spring primary" as "the nonpartisan primary held on the 3rd Tuesday in February to nominate nonpartisan candidates to be voted for at the spring election."
See law: Wisconsin Statute 8.10(2).a and Wisconsin Statute 120.41(1)
What it takes to win an election
The school board candidate or candidates with the most votes are elected to office in the general election. State law requires a place on the school board general election ballot for write-in candidates.
School board primary elections are only held if (a) for single-seat races, there are more than two candidates for any one seat up for election; or (b) for multi-seat races, if the number of candidates is more than twice the number of seats up for election. If a primary is held, the top two vote getters per seat advance to the general election.
See law: Wisconsin Statute Section 8.10 and Wisconsin Statute Section 120
and Wisconsin Statute Section 8.10 and Wisconsin Statute Section 120
Number, terms, and types of school board seats
Number of board members
School districts other than first class city school districts can have boards with 3, 5, 7, 9, or 11 members, depending on the district type, the types and populations of the areas served, and the discretion of the district's voters and board. As of 2022, a little less than 1% of districts had three board members, about 30% of districts have five board members, about 56% of districts had seven board members, about 13% of districts had nine board members, and less half of 1% of districts had 11 board members.
School districts except for first class city districts can have 3, 5, 7, 9, or not more than 11 school board members depending on which grades they serve, what the district population is, whether the district overlaps with a city or town, whether they elect board members to represent apportioned sub-districts, and the discretion of the district board. As of 2022, three school districts (less than 1%) had three board members, 124 districts (30%) had five board members, 237 districts (56%) had seven board members, 55 districts (13%) had nine board members, and one district had 11 board members.
First class city school districts must have nine board members, one elected at large and eight elected from sub-districts. As of 2022, the Milwaukee Public Schools district was the only first class city school district in the state.
First class city school districts have nine board members, one elected at large and eight elected by voters from sub-districts. As of 2022, the Milwaukee Public Schools district was the only first class city school district in the state.
See law: Wisconsin Statute 120.01
and Wisconsin Statute 8.10.2
and Wisconsin Statute 119.08(1)(a) and Wisconsin Statute 119.06(3)(a)
Board member term lengths
School board members for all school districts except first class city school districts are elected to staggered three-year terms.
First class city school district board members are elected to staggered four-year terms. As of 2022, the Milwaukee Public Schools district was the only first class city school district in the state.
See law: Wisconsin Statute 8.10.2
and Wisconsin Statute 119.08(1)(a) and Wisconsin Statute 119.06(3)(a)
School board member election staggering
School districts other than first class city districts elect as close to equal numbers of board members as possible every year to three-year terms, which means roughly one-third of board members are up for regular election every year.
As close to half of first class city school district board members as possible are elected every two years. As of 2022, the Milwaukee Public Schools district was the only first class city school district in the state and had nine board members, with five elected in the year after each midterm election and four elected in the year after each presidential election.
See law: Wisconsin Statute 120
and Wisconsin Statute 119.08(1)(a) and Wisconsin Statute 119.06(3)(a)
Representation: elections at-large or by sub-districts
School board members are elected at large by voters from the whole district for all school districts except first class city school districts. By default, board members are elected through multi-seat races. District voters can opt to establish numbered seats with members elected at large in single-seat races, for which candidates must file for specific seat numbers. District voters can also opt to create apportioned areas (sub-districts) and require board members to be elected to represent each sub-district. Under that system, school board candidates must reside within the sub-district for which they are running but are elected at large by all voters in the whole district. Voters in a school district can submit a petition with either 100 or 500 voter signatures, depending on whether the district contains part of a city, to propose electing school board members according to numbered seats or from apportioned residence areas. Upon such a petition the proposal is put before voters at either an annual meeting or election. Once adopted by a majority of voters, the structure can only be changed or reversed by the same petition and voter approval process.
School board members for first class city school districts are elected through a combination of one member elected at-large and eight members elected by voters from sub-districts determined by the school board. State law requires the sub-districts to be substantially equal in population and "reflect a balanced representation of citizens in all areas within the city." As of 2022, the Milwaukee Public Schools district was the only first class city school district in the state.
See law: Wisconsin Statute 120.06
and Wisconsin Statute 119.08(1)(a) and Wisconsin Statute 119.06(3)(a)
How does Wisconsin 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
