Filing for School Board Member

School board members govern, manage, and control the school district in its duty to furnish school facilities to every child of school age.

School board members typically have a term length of two or four years. Most are elected in even years, but some districts have their regularly scheduled elections in odd years. Contact the school district clerk to learn which offices will be on the ballot at the upcoming election. The clerk will also have information about filing for any special elections to fill vacancies.

Qualifications

Candidates for an elected school board office must:

• be eligible to vote in Minnesota
• be at least 21 years old upon assuming office
• have maintained residence in their district for at least 30 days before the general election
• have not filed for another office at the upcoming primary or general election (unless authorized by Minn. Stat. 367.033)
• have not been convicted of an offense for which they are required to register as a predatory offender under Minn. Stat. 243.166

How to File

Submit the affidavit and filing fee to your school district clerk during the filing period.

Affidavit of Candidacy

Read instructions on the affidavit of candidacy carefully. Filing reminders are included on the back of the form.

Filing Fee

There is a $2 filing fee in Minnesota for school board candidates.

Any candidate may choose to submit a Petition in Place of Filing Fee instead of paying the filing fee. The number of signatures required is the lesser of 500 signatures or 5% of the total number of votes cast in the last general election that included that office (Minn. Stat. 204B.11, subd. 2 (d)).

Filing Period

The filing dates for school district offices such as School Board Member depend on whether the school district holds primaries or not.

• Candidates in school districts where a primary is possible may file from May 19, 2026 until June 2, 2026 at 5 p.m.
• Candidates in school districts where a primary is not held may file from July 14, 2026 until July 28, 2026 at 5 p.m.

Withdrawal

A candidate who has filed for office may remove their name from the ballot by filing an affidavit of withdrawal. Candidates may withdraw within the filing period, or by 5:00 p.m. within two days of the end of the filing period. The affidavit of withdrawal is filed with the school district clerk.

Write-In Candidates

All write-in votes are individually tallied without the need for a written request, unless a school district adopts a resolution requiring that write-in votes only be individually tallied if the total number of write-in votes is equal or greater than the fewest number of non-write-in votes for a candidate on the ballot.