The research shop for school boards.
Who sits on the board, who is running for it, and how the district is run, for every school district in the country. Researched by people who have sat in the meetings, read the budgets, and built the systems that keep track of all of it.
Who it's for
Whoever you are in this, start here
The same research, for whoever needs it. Pick the one that sounds like you.
Running for school boardCampaign research that helps you win: the seat, the field, the issues, and the district, before you file and through election day.For candidates →
Already on the boardResearch that helps you do the job: your district's numbers, what your board has in front of it, and your seat, kept current.For board members →
Reporting or researchingCustom research for newsrooms, voter guides, advocacy groups, and academics: the questions your organization wants answered, cited, never rated.For organizations →
Teaching in the districtAsk what you want to know about the board you work under. We keep a pro bono budget for educators and try to accommodate every request.For educators →Pro bono research for educators
Teachers, principals, district staff, school librarians, union locals, and education researchers: reach out and we'll try to accommodate it. We keep a budget aside for this work, and your school or university email is all you need.
Why trust it
The record underneath
Research is only as good as the record it stands on. Here is how ours is built.
Every district, not a sample
All 13,184 school districts with an elected board are mapped, in every county in the country, with enrollment, schools, and locale behind each one.
Read from the district's own record
Sitting boards come from the district's own roster page and candidates from the state filing record. Every row carries its source and the date we checked it.
Modern tools, human judgment
We use the latest in data engineering and AI to read, cross-check, and keep current a record this large, and researchers who know school districts direct the work and sign off on every finding.
What a row looks like
A real district, as it appears in the record
Every seat, who holds it, what is on the ballot, and the page it was read from, with the date. This is the level of detail behind every answer we give.
| Seat | Field | Election | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| District 10 | 2 candidates | Nov 3, 2026 | Incumbent running |
| District 2 | 2 candidates | Nov 3, 2026 | Open seat |
| District 4 | 2 candidates | Nov 3, 2026 | Incumbent running |
| District 6 | 3 candidates | Nov 3, 2026 | Open seat |
| District 8 | 2 candidates | Nov 3, 2026 | Open seat |
| District 9 | 2 candidates | Nov 3, 2026 | Incumbent running |
Research & publications
What the record shows
Findings about America's school boards, drawn from public records and published with the data and method behind them. New work is posted here first, and on X and Bluesky the same day.
Who does the work
There are people behind every row
The research is done by people who know how school districts work, from the classroom, the district office, and the data side, and they put their name on it.
- Former educators and administratorsPeople who have sat on the other side of the table, and know how a district actually runs.
- Statisticians and data engineersThe people who built the national record are the people who check it, so every figure traces back to a document.
- Public-sector researchersThey know where records are kept, which office to ask, and what a public body is obliged to publish.
Bring us a question about a board, a candidate, or a race and a researcher takes it on. How we work with organizations.
Have a question about a school board?
Tell us the district and what you want to know. We'll tell you what the record already shows, and what it would take to find out the rest.