Tagschool board elections

Three running for DeForest Area School District Board of Education

The nonpartisan general for DeForest Area School District Board of Education in Wisconsin is on April 4, 2023. The Feb. 21 primary was canceled due to a lack of opposition. The filing deadline to run was on Jan. 3. 

Candidates are competing for three of nine seats. The candidates are:

  • Incumbents Gail Lovick and Megan Taylor – Village of Windsor (two seats)
  • Incumbent Linda Leonhart – Town of Burke

Wisconsin voters can register by mailing a form to the local municipal clerk. An individual can also register in person at the municipal clerk’s office. If registering by mail, the application must be postmarked no later than 20 days before the election. In-person registration must be completed by 5 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day. Same-day voter registration is also available, as long as the registrant provides proof of residency at the polls.

DeForest Area School District served 3,762 students during the 2017-2018 school year.

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Three running for Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education

The nonpartisan general for Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education in Wisconsin is on April 4, 2023. The Feb. 21 primary was canceled due to a lack of opposition. The filing deadline to run was on Jan. 3. 

Candidates are competing for two of seven seats. The candidates are:

  • Blair Feltham and Badri Lankella – Seat 6
  • Incumbent Nicki Vander Meulen – Seat 7

Wisconsin voters can register by mailing a form to the local municipal clerk. An individual can also register in person at the municipal clerk’s office. If registering by mail, the application must be postmarked no later than 20 days before the election. In-person registration must be completed by 5 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day. Same-day voter registration is also available, as long as the registrant provides proof of residency at the polls.

Madison Metropolitan School District served 26,968 students during the 2017-2018 school year.

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One running for McFarland School District School Board

The nonpartisan general for McFarland School District School Board in Wisconsin is on April 4, 2023. The Feb. 21 primary was canceled due to a lack of opposition. The filing deadline to run was on Jan. 3. 

Incumbent Craig Howery is running for re-election to one of five at-large board seats.

Wisconsin voters can register by mailing a form to the local municipal clerk. An individual can also register in person at the municipal clerk’s office. If registering by mail, the application must be postmarked no later than 20 days before the election. In-person registration must be completed by 5 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day. Same-day voter registration is also available, as long as the registrant provides proof of residency at the polls.

McFarland School District served 4,343 students during the 2017-2018 school year.

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Four running for Middleton-Cross Plains School District Board of Education

The nonpartisan general for Middleton-Cross Plains School District Board of Education in Wisconsin is on April 4, 2023. The Feb. 21 primary was canceled due to a lack of opposition. The filing deadline to run was on Jan. 3. 

Candidates are competing for five of nine seats. The candidates are:

  • Incumbents Bob Green and Catherine Kells – Area II (two seats)
  • Incumbent Tabitha Hansen – Area III
  • Marni Ginsberge – Area IV (two seats)

Wisconsin voters can register by mailing a form to the local municipal clerk. An individual can also register in person at the municipal clerk’s office. If registering by mail, the application must be postmarked no later than 20 days before the election. In-person registration must be completed by 5 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day. Same-day voter registration is also available, as long as the registrant provides proof of residency at the polls.

Middleton-Cross Plains School District served 7,325 students during the 2017-2018 school year.

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Eight running for Milwaukee Board of School Directors

The nonpartisan general for Milwaukee Board of School Directors in Wisconsin is on April 4, 2023. The Feb. 21 primary was canceled due to a lack of opposition. The filing deadline to run was on Jan. 3. 

Candidates are competing for five of nine seats. The candidates are:

  • Jeff Spence and Missy Zombor – At-large
  • Incumbent Marva Herndon and Shandowlyon Hendricks Reaves – District 1
  • Incumbent Erika Siemsen – District 2
  • Gabi Hart and Darryl Jackson – District 3
  • Incumbent Megan O’Halloran – District 8

Wisconsin voters can register by mailing a form to the local municipal clerk. An individual can also register in person at the municipal clerk’s office. If registering by mail, the application must be postmarked no later than 20 days before the election. In-person registration must be completed by 5 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day. Same-day voter registration is also available, as long as the registrant provides proof of residency at the polls.

Milwaukee Public Schools served 75,539 students during the 2017-2018 school year.

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Four running for Sun Prairie Area Board of Education

The nonpartisan general for Sun Prairie Area Board of Education in Wisconsin is on April 4, 2023. The Feb. 21 primary was canceled due to a lack of opposition. The filing deadline to run was on Jan. 3. 

Candidates are competing for two of seven seats. The candidates for Sun Prairie Area Board of Education At-large (two seats) are:

  • Incumbent Carol Albright
  • Incumbent Tom Weber
  • Lisa Goldsberry
  • Katey Kamoku

Wisconsin voters can register by mailing a form to the local municipal clerk. An individual can also register in person at the municipal clerk’s office. If registering by mail, the application must be postmarked no later than 20 days before the election. In-person registration must be completed by 5 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day. Same-day voter registration is also available, as long as the registrant provides proof of residency at the polls.

Sun Prairie Area School District served 8,409 students during the 2017-2018 school year.

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Three running for Verona Area School District Board of Education

The nonpartisan general for Verona Area School District Board of Education in Wisconsin is on April 4, 2023. The Feb. 21 primary was canceled due to a lack of opposition. The filing deadline to run was on Jan. 3. 

Candidates are competing for three of seven seats. The candidates are:

  • Incumbents John Porco and Korbey White – At-large (two seats)
  • Juan Carlos Medina – Portion 3

Wisconsin voters can register by mailing a form to the local municipal clerk. An individual can also register in person at the municipal clerk’s office. If registering by mail, the application must be postmarked no later than 20 days before the election. In-person registration must be completed by 5 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day. Same-day voter registration is also available, as long as the registrant provides proof of residency at the polls.

Verona Area School District served 5,543 students during the 2017-2018 school year.

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Pflugerville Independent School District filing deadline passes

On Feb. 17, the filing deadline passed to run for elected office on the Pflugerville Independent School District school board in Texas. Three of seven school board seats are up for election. Candidates filed for Place 5, Place 6, and Place 7. Place 5 is a special election, while Places 6 and 7 are up for regular election.  

Kelly Daniel is running for Place 5, while Incumbent Jean Mayer is running for re-election to Place 6. Incumbent Brian Allen, Agha Ahmed, and Chevonne Lorigo-Johst are running for election to Place 7.

The nonpartisan general election is scheduled for May 6, 2023.

Pflugerville Independent School District served 25,306 students during the 2017-2018 school year.



Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey: Texas roundup

Texas is holding elections, including for municipal and school board offices, on May 6, 2023. A number of candidates running in these elections completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. These survey responses allow voters to hear directly from candidates about what motivates them to run for office.

Below is a selection of responses from the candidates who filled out the survey as of March 6, 2023. To read each candidate’s full responses, click their name at the bottom of the article.

Incumbent Nikkie Hunter (nonpartisan) is running for Arlington City Council District 3 and the general election is on May 6. Here’s how Hunter responded to the question: “What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

“Public Safety, Economic Growth, Infrastructure.”

Click here to read the rest of Hunter’s answers. 

Audra Deaver (nonpartisan) is running for Humble Independent School District Position 6 and the general election is on May 6. Here’s how Deaver responded to the question: “What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

“I feel very passionate about protecting our students with unbiased [curriculum] in our classrooms, removing pornography from our libraries, and raising our test scores back above state averages.”

Click here to read the rest of Deaver’s answers. 

Cesario Garcia (nonpartisan) is running for San Antonio City Council District 8 and the general election is on May 6. Here’s how Garcia responded to the question: “What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

“There must be a concerted effort to grow our cadet class. This act alone will provide a safer environment for our men and women in blue as well as the public. We needed law and order to remain a free thinking society.

San Antonio was once an energy independent city with abundance of energy.”

Click here to read the rest of Garcia’s answers. 

Christopher Longoria (nonpartisan) is running for mayor of San Antonio and the general election is on May 6. Here’s how Longoria responded to the question: “What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

“The city’s Crime is terrible and needs to be addressed with proactive policing not reactive. The rule of law is important and should be followed and enforced. Reform all Programs. Remove Equity Policy throughout the City of San Antonio.”

Click here to read the rest of Longoria’s answers. 

If you’re a Texas candidate or incumbent, click here to take the survey. The survey contains over 30 questions, and you can choose the ones you feel will best represent your views to voters. If you complete the survey, a box with your answers will display on your Ballotpedia profile. Your responses will also populate the information that appears in our mobile app, My Vote Ballotpedia.

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Governor Ron DeSantis releases list of 14 target school boards in 2024

On Feb. 21, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) released a list of school board incumbents he hopes to see defeated in the 2024 elections. DeSantis made the announcement following a meeting with state House of Representatives Speaker Paul Renner (R), Moms for Liberty co-founders Tina Descovich and Tiffany Justice, and Florida Republican Party Chair Christian Ziegler. 

The list includes districts in the counties of Sarasota, Hillsborough, Duval, Brevard, Miami-Dade, Volusia, and Indian River—districts DeSantis has brought up in the past.  

DeSantis endorsed 34 candidates in 2022. Twenty-nine of those candidates won their elections. In the August 2022 primaries, DeSantis-backed candidates succeeded in shifting the balance of power from liberal to conservative in several districts, including Miami-Dade and Sarasota. In Sarasota County, Tom Edwards was left as the remaining Democrat on the board. 

In Florida, each county is a school district. Florida holds nonpartisan school board elections in even-numbered years. Primary candidates can win outright if they receive more than a simple majority of the vote. 

DeSantis said the targeted incumbents “do not protect parental rights and have failed to protect students from woke ideologies.”

Edwards is one of the incumbents on DeSantis’ 2024 list. Edwards said, “I appreciate the spotlight that the governor is giving me for my good governance, and for my quality School Board work for the students and my community.”

As school board elections have increasingly reflected national partisan concerns, they’ve also attracted the attention of statewide officials and candidates, and national organizations. That includes Moms for Liberty, which began in Florida but endorses school board candidates across the country. The group describes itself as an organization for “all that have a desire to stand up for parental rights at all levels of government” and has generally backed candidates affiliated with the Republican Party. 

National organizations, like Run For Something, have also backed Democratic school board candidates. Run for Something describes itself as “recruiting and supporting young progressives,” and helped elect Brevard School Board member Jennifer Jenkins and Miami-Dade County Public Schools school board member Luisa Santos—both of whom are on DeSantis’ 2024 list.   

Incumbent governors like DeSantis don’t usually get involved in local school board elections. But in 2022, we tracked seven state executive officials and candidates—including two incumbent governors—in four states who endorsed candidates running for seats in school districts within Ballotpedia’s coverage scope. That scope has traditionally included all school districts in the 100 largest cities by population and the 200 largest school districts by student enrollment. Those officials included DeSantis and his gubernatorial Democratic candidate, Charlie Crist, as well as Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake (R). The seven officials and candidates endorsed 110 candidates, 64 of whom won their elections. 

Recently, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) said he was working with the Illinois Democratic Party to counter local Republican Party committees and national organizations working to elect school board candidates in the state’s upcoming elections. Illinois Democratic Party executive director Ben Hardin said, “We aren’t going to let these extremist groups get away with pushing their agendas.” In a move similar to DeSantis’, the Illinois Democratic Party is planning to release a list of over 100 candidates it opposes. 

Illinois’ school board elections are April 4.