Campaign 101

During the 2023 campaign season, Democracy and Education began building tools for non-partisan school board candidates and local PACs to use, including:

  • A campaign schedule with to-do lists to keep you on track through your November election;

  • An example monthly event calendar;

  • A how-to presentation on making a great campaign video;

  • Canvassing tips and more.

These tools draw on the wisdom of those who have run before against extremist candidates and won.

We will continue working to provide this kind of information in 2024. But because this site is public and extremist groups are always looking for an edge or a peek into our processes, we aren’t listing them all for just anyone to use.

If you are interested in those resources, fill out the form on the Connect Page and so we can get to know you, your race, and your needs. We’ll be in touch and let you know how to access our full suite of resources.

Images by Kjrstie from Pixabay

State-by-State Resources

We have catalogued publicly available state-by-state information about how to run for school board.

A few things to keep in mind:

  • In general, your Secretary of State or your state Board of Elections should have information about what forms you need to file to become a candidate and the deadlines you need to follow. Your state association of school boards should (but doesn’t always) have information for school board candidates. Please also consult your local elections office.

  • Before you accept your first dollar of campaign funds, make sure you file as a candidate and set up a separate campaign bank account with your official campaign name. You are essentially setting up a business, and you need to make sure your personal money and your campaign money are completely separate. Not only is it good practice, it’s the law.

  • If you have trouble figuring something out, use the contact page to reach out to us. We’ll see if we can find someone in your state to help decode the rules. Sometimes, you need a guide through the thicket. And if you find a new resource we should feature, please let us know!