What does a school board member do?

What this office controls

• Hires, evaluates, and can fire the superintendent.
• Adopts the district budget and sets spending priorities.
• Approves curriculum frameworks and instructional materials within state standards.
• Sets attendance boundaries and decides on school openings and closures.
• Adopts district policy on discipline, student services, and library materials.
• Negotiates or approves employee contracts.

What it can’t do

Just as important, and the source of most misplaced expectations about the job:

• Cannot set state academic standards or state testing requirements.
• Cannot levy taxes in most states — funding comes from the state and the county.
• Does not manage individual schools day to day; principals and the superintendent do.

Why this race matters

School boards control the largest single share of local public spending in most communities and make decisions — boundaries, curriculum, closures, discipline policy — that directly reach individual families. Turnout in school board races is often in the single digits as a share of registered voters.

What to look for in a candidate

• Experience with education, budgets, or district governance.
• Specific positions on the district's current pressures — enrollment, facilities, teacher retention.
• Attendance and voting record if an incumbent.
• How they describe the board's role relative to the superintendent's.