To run for school board in Pennsylvania in 2027, you must be a Pennsylvania citizen of good moral character, at least 18 years old, who has lived in the school district for at least one year before the election. You collect at least 10 valid signatures on a party nomination petition between Tuesday, February 16 and Tuesday, March 9, 2027, and file it with your county board of elections by March 9, together with a notarized candidate's affidavit and a Statement of Financial Interests. School director candidates may seek both the Democratic and Republican nominations, which is called cross-filing. The primary is on Tuesday, May 18, 2027, and the election is on Tuesday, November 2, 2027.
The February 16, March 9 and May 18 dates are calculated from the Election Code (based on state law), so confirm them with your county board of elections. For the steps every local candidate follows, see our guide to running for local office in Pennsylvania. This post covers what is different about school director.
The office: nine directors, four-year terms
In Pennsylvania the official title is school director, and the members together form the board of school directors. In every school district with fewer than 250,000 people, the Public School Code sets a board of nine directors who serve four-year terms. The terms are staggered: four seats are filled at one municipal election and five at the next. Five seats are filled in 2027.
A few details can change what appears on your ballot:
- Regions. Directors are elected at large, by the whole district, unless the district has a regional plan. Under such a plan, approved by the court of common pleas, some or all directors are elected from regions instead. A director elected from a region must live in that region.
- Vacancies. If a director left before the end of a term, a shorter term may also be on the ballot.
- The largest districts. Districts of 250,000 people or more are organized under other sections of the code. If you live in one, ask your county board of elections which seats are open and how they are elected.
Directors elected on November 2, 2027 take office on the first Monday of December, which is Monday, December 6, 2027 (based on state law). During their term, school directors may not do business with the district or be employed or paid by it, except as the Public School Code allows.
Who can run
The Public School Code sets four qualifications. You must be a citizen of Pennsylvania, be of good moral character, be at least 18 years old, and have lived in the school district for at least one year before the election.
The code also lists offices and jobs that cannot be combined with school director. These include mayor, county commissioner, district attorney, member of council in any municipality, township supervisor, township commissioner, tax collector, assessor, constable, and a city, borough or township treasurer. A teacher, principal or other employee of a school district cannot serve on that district's own board, although an employee may serve as a director in a different district (with limits for districts that run a joint school together). If you hold one of these positions, read the code's list carefully or ask an election attorney before you file.
If you serve as a judge of elections or an inspector of elections, note one more rule. The Election Code says an election officer is not eligible for any office voted on at a primary or election where that officer serves, other than an election office. Talk with your county board before the primary about who will serve in your place.
Cross-filing: running in both primaries
Pennsylvania's primaries are closed, which means only Democrats vote in the Democratic primary and only Republicans vote in the Republican primary. Most local candidates file in one party's primary. School director is different: the Election Code does not require school director candidates to swear that they are not seeking another party's nomination, so you may file in both.
Cross-filing means doing the petition work twice:
- Two petitions. You file one petition for the Democratic nomination and one for the Republican nomination, each with at least 10 valid signatures.
- Signers from each party. Signatures on each petition must come from registered and enrolled members of that party who live in the district (or in your region, for a region seat).
- A circulator from each party. The person who collects the signatures (the circulator) must be enrolled in the party named on the petition. You may circulate your own petition for the party you are registered in, but your petition for the other party must be circulated by someone enrolled in that party.
If you win both primaries, you are the nominee of both parties in November. If you win one, you are that party's nominee. You may also choose to file in only one party's primary.
Signatures: how many and who may sign
The minimum is 10 valid signatures on each petition. Collect well above that number, because signatures fail when a signer is registered in the other party, lives outside the district or leaves out the date.
In an at-large race for five seats, each voter may sign petitions for up to five candidates, the same number they could vote for in November. If a voter signs more petitions than allowed and the signatures carry the same date, none of them count once an objection is raised. Each signer must personally sign, legibly print their name, and write the address where they are registered and the date. Signatures count only if they are dated from February 16 through March 9, 2027 (based on state law).
Beacon's guide to Pennsylvania nomination petitions covers circulating and checking a petition in more detail.
What to file by March 9
By the county board of elections' ordinary closing time on Tuesday, March 9, 2027 (based on state law), file:
- Your nomination petition, or two petitions if you cross-file, with the sheets bound together and numbered at the foot of each page.
- Your candidate's affidavit, notarized, stating your residence and election district, the office, and that you are eligible. If you cannot obtain a notarization, the Department of State allows an Unsworn Statement in Lieu of Notarization.
- Your Statement of Financial Interests for the 2026 calendar year. File it with the school district, which is the governing body for this office, by March 9, and attach a copy to your petition. A petition without it cannot be accepted, and leaving it out is a fatal defect.
There is no filing fee for school director. If your school district crosses county lines, file in the county where most of the district's registered voters live.
After filing, watch two dates. Objections to petitions are due in court by Tuesday, March 16, 2027, and the last day to withdraw is Wednesday, March 24, 2027 (both based on state law). Our Pennsylvania 2027 municipal election calendar lists every date in the cycle.
Text the parents and neighbors who signed up
Before anyone gets a text
- Ask in writingThe form or sheet says plainly that they agree to receive texts from you.
- Keep the recordNote the date and where each person signed up.
- Send at reasonable hoursQuiet-hours scheduling keeps texts out of the night.
- Honor STOPA STOP reply is handled automatically.
Many of your supporters in a school board race will be parents and neighbors you meet in person. Texting lets you keep in touch with the ones who asked to hear from you. Set it up in CampaignCNX+ in this order:
- Ask for permission in writing. At your kickoff, at the doors and while you circulate, offer a sign-up sheet that says plainly the person agrees to receive campaign texts from you, with a line for the date. A petition signature does not count, so never text everyone who signed your petition or everyone on a voter list.
- Confirm your committee filing is online, then request Campaign Verify. Campaign Verify is the check that confirms to the carriers (the mobile phone companies) that you are a real campaign. It costs $95 per two-year cycle, is for 527 committees (the federal tax status of a political committee), and needs your committee's EIN (its federal tax ID number) and an election-authority filing that is published online. The PIN goes only to the contact details on that filing, and candidates with no committee are not eligible. Ask your county board of elections whether your local committee filing can be viewed online, and if it cannot, ask Campaign Verify Support how to proceed before you pay. Campaign Verify decides eligibility. Request it on or after Sunday, November 15, 2026, so that it lasts until January 31, 2029.
- Open your account. CampaignCNX+ files your carrier registration and the Campaign Verify token you buy from Campaign Verify. 100 free SMS included. Your number is $5 a month.
- Build one group of opted-in supporters. Record each person's consent date and source in a custom field, and use the first-name merge field so each text is addressed to the person by name.
- Schedule a primary-day reminder. Texts send only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone, and STOP replies are handled automatically.
A primary-day text that works whether or not you cross-filed:
Hi [First name], today is the May 18 primary. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thank you for supporting Lee for School Board.
If someone is hearing from you for the first time, add "Reply STOP to opt out." For more wording, see our campaign text templates for local races, and for the rules that apply everywhere, our political texting guide.
Start before petition season
Most of the work in a school board race happens between now and March 9: deciding whether to cross-file, finding circulators in each party, and preparing your ethics form. Set up your texting at the same time, so your supporter list is ready when the primary comes. Start a trial once your committee filing is online.
