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Become a Board Member

Get On Board

Resources for Candidates and Board Member Recruitment

MASB’s Get On Board campaign is designed to find more civic-minded, student-focused individuals to run for board of education seats. If you or someone you know is looking for a way to give back to the community, then maybe school board service is for you.

Below you will find a toolkit about the roles and responsibilities of board members and also how you can recruit others who may be interested. It’s time to Get On Board!

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Toolkit


Notice Regarding Affidavits of Identity

A legal question regarding candidates' Affidavits of Identity has arisen. To avoid potential issues, MASB encourages all candidates for local school board to review their Affidavit of Identity to ensure they have written “No Party Affiliation” on the line requesting the political party for the office sought.


Virtual Informational Events

If you are interested in becoming a voice for public education, check out a recording of one of our town halls that covered what serving on a local school board entails, the process for filing and more as part of MASB's Get On Board campaign.

Know someone else who would make a great school board member? Share this video with them!

 

 


Election and Campaign Finance Laws

Candidates seeking election to a school board must determine their obligations under the Campaign Finance Act.

Two general rules are overriding:

  1. A candidate for election to the board of a district having 2,401 or more students must comply with all of the Campaign Finance Act filing requirements.
  2. Candidates in districts with 2,400 or fewer pupils aren’t subject to all of the filing requirements so long as the candidate doesn’t receive or spend more than $1,000 for their election.

 

 


How to File for a Seat

Local school board elections are held at the even-year November election.

To be eligible, a person must be a qualified school elector. This means that the candidate must be a registered voter in the school district where they are a candidate.

A candidate must be at least 18 years of age; a citizen of the United States; a resident of the state of Michigan for at least 30 days; and a resident of the school district on or before the 30th day prior to the date of the election. Property ownership is not a requirement for candidacy.