GOTV for May 4, 2024 School Board Elections

Each school district in Texas has a nonpartisan governing body comprised of 7-9 elected trustees who provide oversight and make macro-level decisions for the district, much like the board of a corporation, foundation, or nonprofit. School boards are not involved in day-to-day operations but rather direct district policy and practice, making them powerful entities with a tremendous effect on student outcomes and experience.

As important as these roles are, turnout for school board elections is often less than 10% of registered voters and many elections have been decided by fewer than 50 votes. This low level of engagement means that most people’s voices are not heard and that small, vocal groups who may not represent the community as a whole have tremendous sway in the outcomes, not only of individual races but in the trajectory of our schools. Therefore, it is vital to vote in every election!

Candidate Evaluation Tool

Leadership ISD, its network, and partners work hard to get out the informed vote for school board elections. In the past, we have collected and distributed candidate questionnaires, making them available in English and Spanish. This year, we took it a step further by creating a candidate evaluation tool to help voters evaluate and select candidates who will best serve students.

Leadership ISD’s candidate evaluation tool is designed to help community members make an informed vote for candidates who will put students first and remain laser-focused on student outcomes! The tool presents each candidate’s responses to six outcomes-aligned questions (in English or Spanish), allowing voters to rate those responses based on proven, research-based criteria for effective school board leadership. When finished, the tool shows how you scored each candidate and provides links to their campaign websites and other school board election information.

Our candidate evaluation tool proved very valuable with voters saying it helped bring a “heightened understanding of the importance of school board races,” as well as calling it “a helpful nonpartisan tool for everyone” and “great for reducing anxiety for first-time voters.” Check out the video below for a quick introduction to the tool or try it yourself at leadershipisd.org/candidates.

Fellow-Led GOTV and Coalition Events

Each year, our Civic Voices fellows build on the work of previous cohorts to strengthen local capacity for advocacy and equip their communities to make informed votes for high-quality, student-focused leaders to govern our public schools. Once again, our fellows took a very active role in their communities informing community members and encouraging them to vote. From happy hours to candidate forums to virtual presentations and discussions, our fellows hosted a variety of community events designed to engage and inform their communities ahead of the May 4, 2024 school board elections. In Tarrant County, our fellows held 16 events with more than 268 people attending! And in Dallas County, our fellows held 35 events with more than 700 people attending!

For more information and resources on school boards and their role in our schools, visit our School Board Hub.