School Board Member Legal

RESOURCES | BECOMING A BOARD MEMBER

Running for School Board?

Local school boards are a uniquely American institution and at the heart of this country’s public education system. A board’s existence is based on the belief that lay control of public education makes schools flexible and responsive to the needs of the local community. #KeepEducationLocal

Board members must:
  • Be elected by the voters in the district or be appointed by the county superintendent of schools.
  • Reside within the legal boundaries of the school district and have lived in the district for at least one year immediately preceding the day of election.
  • Be a registered voter.
  • Board members cannot be, or have a spouse who is, an employee of the district when assuming office or during the term of office.
Board members cannot serve simultaneously on more than one school district governing board. Finally, a person who has an immediate family member sitting on a school district governing board and who has shared the same household of residence with that family member within four years prior to the election is ineligible to be a candidate for nomination or election to that governing board if the governing board is composed of five members unless the immediate family member is serving in the last year of a term of office; persons related as immediate family who have the same household of residence within four years prior are also ineligible to be simultaneous candidates for nomination or election to the governing board of the same school district if the governing board is composed of five members. The position is unpaid, though some expenses may be reimbursed. School board members have no individual authority over school matters. The authority of a board member includes expressing an opinion and casting a vote as a part of the governing board in a board meeting.

Additional Information

Becoming a Board Member
The Arizona School Boards Association is solely responsible for this advertisement. The Arizona School Boards Association is an association of school districts authorized under Arizona Revised Statutes section 15-342 and a non-profit organization organized under section 501c3 of the Internal Revenue Code. The Arizona School Boards Association is non-partisan and seeks to promote public education, local control of education and school board governance. School board members, whose school districts make up the Arizona School Boards Association’s membership, are elected or appointed, non-partisan and serve for no remuneration.

ASBA School Board Service Booklet
Download our School Board Service Booklet.

Request an ASBA Representative
Your organization or community group can learn more about school board service and how to become a board member by requesting an ASBA representative to speak at your event or meeting.