Help Move School Board Elections to November

Missouri’s April school board elections suffer from chronically low voter turnout, harming accountability and student academic performance.  This low-visibility election structure benefits entrenched interests while discouraging participation by working parents, taxpayers, and everyday citizens.

The result is school boards that often fail to reflect community values. In St. Louis County, a small fraction of highly motivated teachers’ union influenced voters elect boards that support controversial policies, reduced accountability, and practices that many families strongly oppose.

The turnout disparity between November Elections and April Elections is striking. In November 2024, 659,045 St. Louis County residents voted in the General Election. Yet in the April 2025 school board elections, only 73,068 voters participated—just 11 percent. Even more concerning, only 12 of 22 school board races were even contested. That means roughly 11 percent of voters are making decisions that affect approximately 150,000 students and $2.6 billion in annual combined school district spending.

There is a simple, common-sense solutions under consideration for the 2026 legislative session: move school board elections to November, when voter participation is highest and the public is engaged.

This reform would:

• End low-turnout, insider-driven elections

• Democratize school board elections

• Reduce conflicts of interest

• Give families and taxpayers a meaningful voice in public education

Our public schools belong to the public—not political insiders. If school boards control our children’s education and billions in tax dollars, their elections should be held when voters show up.

Please support moving school board elections to November. Encourage your state legislators to support these bills.  It is not uncommon for legislators to introduce bills that do the same things as a strategy.

Senate Bill 839 - Mike Cierpot (R-8)

Senate Bill 1002 — Adam Schnelting (R-23)

Senate Bill 1185 - Nick Schroer (R-2)

House Bill 1772 - Richard West (R-102)