School Board Elections: Resources

Wisconsin school districts must comply with numerous statutory obligations related to elections. The 2027 Spring Election School Board Webinar Series, presented in 3 parts under a single registration, covers key election-related deadlines, notices, and procedures, as well as campaign finance administration and compliance from the perspective of school district filing officers. The content will be of particular interest to school district clerks and to any district employees who assist the clerk with the filing officer’s duties. New superintendents who have not previously helped to oversee a school board election will also benefit from the materials, presentations, and additional resources.

• Part 1: 2027 Spring Election Notices and Procedures (pre-recorded) – This segment covers essential deadlines, required notices, and post-election procedures that Wisconsin school districts must follow.
• Part 2: 2027 Spring Election Campaign Finance (pre-recorded) – This part focuses on the campaign finance rules and regulations applicable to school district elections in Wisconsin.
• Part 3: New Local Duties under Chapter EL 2 and Live Elections Q&A Session (live, Nov. 4, 2026, starting at noon) – WASB staff will answer member questions about school board elections, further highlight new obligations of filing officers under Chapter EL 2 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code relating to ballot access documents and ballot access challenges, and conduct a brief walkthrough of new WASB samples related to the Chapter EL 2 amendments. (The Nov. 4th live session will also be recorded and made available to registrants for later access.)

For a full description of each part of this webinar series and additional registration information, go to WASB’s Online Events web page and look under Nov. 4.  All three parts of this webinar series are included with one registration.

Notes:
— Contact the WASB’s Brock Fritz with any questions or issues regarding access to this webinar series.
— Districts that subscribe to the WASB Policy Resource Guide have access to this School Board Elections webinar series at no additional cost, and attendees from those districts do not need to register.

The materials for this webinar series, including the comments of all webinar speakers who present the materials, do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon or used as legal advice. The materials will present information and commentary to facilitate a general understanding of the topics that are addressed but are not necessarily an exhaustive treatment of any legal or policy issues. If a school district requires legal advice regarding any topic, issue, situation or incident, the advice should be obtained from the school district’s designated legal counsel.

These resources, prepared by the WASB, have been updated for the 2027 Spring Election. These WASB resources have no official standing. Districts are free to develop and use different local documents to address the various topics and notice requirements.

1.  Sample Form for Giving Notification of Refusal to Accept Board Member Salary (a sample from WASB’s Policy Resource Guide)

2.  Sample Communications from School Districts to Municipal Clerks Regarding the Status of Write-In Candidates

3.  Samples Relating to the School District Board of Canvassers (Appointment Notices, Appointment Acceptance/Declination Form, Oath of Office, Open Meetings Law Notice)

4.  Samples for Giving Public Notice of Incumbents Who File a Timely Notification of Noncandidacy

5.  Sample “Notice of District-Specific Instructions for the Electronic Filing of Documents when Filing Challenges, Responses, And Rebuttals Under Chapter EL 2 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code”   (Note: As a new requirement for the 2027 Spring Election cycle, Chapter EL 2 regulations require all school districts to establish a publicly-available set of local instructions for “electronic filing” for purposes of the administration of potential challenges to the sufficiency of a candidate’s ballot access documents.) 

6.   Coming Soon!  SAMPLE “NOTICE OF INCUMBENT NON-FILING AS A CANDIDATE, 72-HOUR EXTENSION OF SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE FILING DEADLINE, AND MODIFIED DEADLINES RELATED TO CHALLENGES TO CERTAIN CANDIDATE PAPERS” (Note: This notice is required only if an incumbent’s non-filing (i.e., confirmed noncandidacy without the incumbent having previously filed a timely Notification of Noncandidacy) for the Spring Election triggers a 72-hour extension of the candidate filing deadline for the applicable school board seat’s ballot contest. A district’s need for this notice generally will not be known with certainty until the first Tuesday in January. The WASB is attempting to clarify various aspects of recent amendments to Chapter EL 2 with the Elections Commission prior to offering an example.)

7.   Unofficial List of Issues for the Local Filing Officer to Evaluate when Conducting a Facial Review of Campaign Finance Report Filed by a School Board Candidate Committee

These documents and the information and examples provided therein are a product of the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, Inc. These documents are intended to provide general information, with commentary, as a service to WASB members. The materials and information provided in these document are not intended as, and should not be relied upon, as legal advice. If needed, legal advice regarding any topic, issue, district-specific situation or incident should be obtained from the school district’s designated legal counsel.

A significant change has occurred regarding the effective date of 2023 Wisconsin Act 126. As originally enacted into law, 2023 Act 126 required local candidate committees and other committees that register with a local filing officer to begin registering and filing their campaign finance reports with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission. This change from local filing to centralized filing with the Commission was previously scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2025.

On June 9, 2025, Governor Evers signed 2025 Wisconsin Act 7. This new Act amends the effective date of 2023 Act 126. The provisions of 2023 Act 126 related to registration and reporting now take effect on December 1, 2027. As a result of 2025 Act 7, local candidates and other committees that have been registering their committees and filing reports with school board clerks will continue to do so until December 1, 2027.