Big Foot Union High School District, Wisconsin, elections
Election dates and frequency
School board general elections in Wisconsin are held on the first Tuesday in April. The one first class city school district in the state, Milwaukee Public Schools, holds school board elections in odd-numbered years. All other school districts hold school board elections every year.
School board nonpartisan primary elections in Wisconsin are held on the third Tuesday in February. The one first class city school district in the state, Milwaukee Public Schools, holds school board elections every two years in odd-numbered years. All other school districts hold school board elections every year. School board primary elections are only held if there are more than two candidates running for any specific single-seat race or if the number of candidates running for multi-seat races is more than twice the number of seats up for election. Otherwise, the primary is canceled and candidates automatically advance to the general election ballot.
See law:
Wisconsin Statute Section 5.02(21) and Wisconsin Statute Section 5.02(22)
Recent or upcoming election dates for all school districts in the state except first class school districts (Milwaukee Public Schools)
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all school districts in the state except first class school districts (Milwaukee Public Schools). There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.
- Filing deadline date: January 2, 2024
- Primary election date: February 20, 2024
- General election date: April 2, 2024
Recent or upcoming election dates for first class city school districts, which are districts serving cities with a population of more than 150,000 (Milwaukee Public Schools is the only first class city school district)
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for first class city school districts, which are districts serving cities with a population of more than 150,000 (Milwaukee Public Schools is the only first class city school district). There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.
- Filing deadline date: January 7, 2025
- Primary election date: February 18, 2025
- General election date: April 1, 2025
Election system
School board members in Wisconsin are elected through a system of a nonpartisan primary election and a nonpartisan general election. The primary election is only held if a large enough number of candidates run for office.
See law: Wisconsin Statute 8.10(2).a and Wisconsin Statute 120.41(1)
Party labels on the ballot
School board elections in Wisconsin are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Wisconsin Statute requires school board candidates to file nomination papers before the state's spring primary and for regular school board general elections to occur at the state's April spring election, which features nonpartisan races. Statute defines "spring primary" as "the nonpartisan primary held on the 3rd Tuesday in February to nominate nonpartisan candidates to be voted for at the spring election."
See law: Wisconsin Statute 8.10(2).a and Wisconsin Statute 120.41(1)
Winning an election
The school board candidate or candidates with the most votes are elected to office in the general election. State law requires a place on the school board general election ballot for write-in candidates.
School board primary elections are only held if (a) for single-seat races, there are more than two candidates for any one seat up for election; or (b) for multi-seat races, if the number of candidates is more than twice the number of seats up for election. If a primary is held, the top two vote getters per seat advance to the general election.
See law: Wisconsin Statute Section 8.10 and Wisconsin Statute Section 120
and Wisconsin Statute Section 8.10 and Wisconsin Statute Section 120
Term length and staggering
School board members for all school districts except first class city school districts are elected to staggered three-year terms.
First class city school district board members are elected to staggered four-year terms. As of 2022, the Milwaukee Public Schools district was the only first class city school district in the state.
See law: Wisconsin Statute 8.10.2
and Wisconsin Statute 119.08(1)(a) and Wisconsin Statute 119.06(3)(a)
School districts other than first class city districts elect as close to equal numbers of board members as possible every year to three-year terms, which means roughly one-third of board members are up for regular election every year.
As close to half of first class city school district board members as possible are elected every two years. As of 2022, the Milwaukee Public Schools district was the only first class city school district in the state and had nine board members, with five elected in the year after each midterm election and four elected in the year after each presidential election.
See law: Wisconsin Statute 120
and Wisconsin Statute 119.08(1)(a) and Wisconsin Statute 119.06(3)(a)
Representation: at large vs. by sub-district
School board members are elected at large by voters from the whole district for all school districts except first class city school districts. By default, board members are elected through multi-seat races. District voters can opt to establish numbered seats with members elected at large in single-seat races, for which candidates must file for specific seat numbers. District voters can also opt to create apportioned areas (sub-districts) and require board members to be elected to represent each sub-district. Under that system, school board candidates must reside within the sub-district for which they are running but are elected at large by all voters in the whole district. Voters in a school district can submit a petition with either 100 or 500 voter signatures, depending on whether the district contains part of a city, to propose electing school board members according to numbered seats or from apportioned residence areas. Upon such a petition the proposal is put before voters at either an annual meeting or election. Once adopted by a majority of voters, the structure can only be changed or reversed by the same petition and voter approval process.
School board members for first class city school districts are elected through a combination of one member elected at-large and eight members elected by voters from sub-districts determined by the school board. State law requires the sub-districts to be substantially equal in population and "reflect a balanced representation of citizens in all areas within the city." As of 2022, the Milwaukee Public Schools district was the only first class city school district in the state.
See law: Wisconsin Statute 120.06
and Wisconsin Statute 119.08(1)(a) and Wisconsin Statute 119.06(3)(a)
Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates
School board candidates must file by 5:00 pm on the first Tuesday in January before elections, which are held every year.
First class city school district board candidates must file by 5:00 pm on the first Tuesday in January before elections, which are held in each odd-numbered year.
See law: Wisconsin Statute 8.10.2
School board candidates cannot circulate nominating petitions until after December 1 of the year before elections, which are held every year.
First class city school district board candidates cannot circulate nominating petitions until after December 1 of the year before elections, which are held in each odd-numbered year.
See law: Wisconsin Statute 8.10.2
New school board members officially take office on the fourth Monday in April.
See law: Wisconsin Statute 8.10.2