Many California school board candidates will coast into office unopposed when ballots are counted next month, a trend education researchers say reflects growing burnout and frustration among local school leaders rather than a lack of important issues to address.
A recent report from the University of Southern California found that roughly half of school board candidates statewide are likely to run without any opposition this election cycle, leaving voters with little real choice and reducing public scrutiny at a time when K-12 education is undergoing major shifts at both the state and federal level.
“We need more people, more options, more public debate,” said Julie Marsh, a USC education professor and one of the report’s lead authors. “Without that, we risk opening the door for special interest groups to step in and gain outsized influence.”
Board members interviewed for the study pointed to a long list of reasons for stepping away from reelection bids: tightening budgets, labor disputes, immigration enforcement actions affecting students and families, and an increasingly hostile political climate. Add to that long hours, modest pay and the toll the job takes on personal relationships, and many simply decide it isn’t worth it.
“A lot of people didn’t anticipate how emotionally draining this job could be,” Marsh said. “We saw a lot of disillusionment.”
Turmoil and uncertainty
Local control has been a defining feature of California’s education system for more than a decade, ever since the state adopted its funding formula giving districts greater say over spending and decision-making. But that balance is shifting as the state moves more authority toward the governor’s office, and as the Trump administration moves to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education — leaving school boards grappling with fresh uncertainty.
Cultural flashpoints haven’t helped. Fights over curriculum involving LGBTQ+ history, transgender student rights and other hot-button issues have inflamed board meetings in politically divided communities in recent years. But according to Marsh’s research, those controversies pale in comparison to the stress caused by teacher strikes, school closures and chronic budget shortfalls.
Interest groups — including labor unions and conservative political organizations — have increasingly sought to place allies on school boards. When candidates run unopposed, they often win easily, with little public vetting of their positions or qualifications.
Does more pay help?
Some efforts are underway to make board service more appealing. Assembly Bill 1390, signed into law last year, allows districts to pay board members up to $4,500 a month depending on district size. Currently, most board members receive only a modest stipend, often just a few hundred dollars monthly.
But even a higher salary doesn’t come close to fairly compensating what can amount to a 40-hour-a-week commitment, board members say. And most people don’t take the job for the money in the first place.
“If I run again, it won’t be for money or personal gain,” said Nick Caston, who won a seat on the Santa Rosa City Schools board in 2024 and became board president last year. “It’ll be for the long-term benefit of students, staff and the community.”
Caston, a father of three and business strategy consultant, said the role has proven far more stressful than he expected. The district initially feared it might need to close one elementary school to balance its budget — a number that quickly grew to six.
He said absorbing public anger over such decisions has been one of the hardest parts of the job.
“You feel like you’re the visible face of things happening outside your control,” Caston said. “It can be incredibly stressful.”
Another approach to improving retention has been expanding training for board members. The California School Boards Association now offers a growing menu of webinars, workshops and a 40-hour “masters in governance” program covering topics such as collective bargaining, community relations, California’s open meetings law and school finance.
None of that training is mandatory, however. The only state requirement for new board members is a two-hour ethics course. Starting next year, they will also be required to complete a four-hour finance course. In the USC report, most board members said they wanted more training — particularly around navigating social media, evaluating whether curriculum and programs are actually working, and managing political tension within their communities.
“Training can’t eliminate every source of stress, but it can help school board members feel more confident, effective and efficient in their work,” said Troy Flint, a spokesperson for the school boards association. “Our goal is to make sure they have the tools to succeed without having to face these challenges alone.”
More Latinas stepping up
While overall interest in board service appears to be waning, one group is bucking the trend: Latinas. As of 2023, Latinas made up at least 20% of school board members in California districts with large Latino student populations, according to a survey by Hispanas Organized for Political Equality, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit. In Los Angeles and along the Central Coast, that figure approached 30%. The Oxnard School District board, notably, was composed entirely of Latinas.
“These are women, many of them first-generation, who care deeply about their communities and want to give back,” said Helen Torres, the organization’s executive director.
Torres’ group trains Latinas for civic leadership roles, including running for public office. Over its 35-year history, the organization has trained more than 2,500 people, including University of California Board of Regents Chair María Anguiano, California State University trustee Yammilette Rodríguez, state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez — who chairs the Senate Education Committee — and state Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón, a former school board member herself. Torres also pointed to other Latinas who have risen to top education posts statewide, including California Student Aid Commission Director Daisy González and Cal State Chancellor Mildred García.
Representation matters, Torres said, because more than half of California’s student population is Latino, and Latina board members are more likely to champion programs that benefit immigrant and working-class families, such as English learner support and after-school programs. Marsh’s research found that, overall, California school board members tend to skew white, older and more affluent.
Overcoming inertia and apathy
Nabil Kherfan, a board member for the Central Unified School District in Fresno, is passionate about public education and serving his community. But after just one term, he’s already had enough.
It wasn’t the contentious board meetings or the stress of budget cuts that soured him on the job — it was the sheer time commitment of balancing board duties with a reelection campaign.
“After putting a lot of things in my personal life on hold for five years, I’m eager to focus on advancing my career and hopefully starting a family,” Kherfan said.
Kherfan is among the first Palestinian Americans elected to office in California and, at 30, one of the youngest school board members in the state. He grew up in Fresno, attended schools within the Central Unified district, and hopes to run for public office again someday.
But for now, the demands of the role can feel overwhelming, especially for someone balancing it with a full-time job.
“We all want change, but there can be real resistance to disrupting the status quo,” Kherfan said. “Tackling systemic inequality and apathy takes time.”
Original source: CalMatters
