When Sara Bitter ran for school board in a suburban district in Cincinnati, it was after she had already run twice for the state legislature. She knew how to run a contested campaign.

But she thought running for the non-partisan school board seat would be different—less contentious, less political. After all, she says, most people just want school board members who will be a good steward of tax dollars and ensure that the children of the community are educated.

Then outside money flooded into her district, funding her opponents who used the same kinds of political and ideological attacks that groups around the country have used elsewhere against pro-public education school board candidates. The attacks were libelous and hurtful, because her neighbors and her neighbors’ children saw them.

So she went back to her old campaign playbook. This wasn’t a matter of just putting up some lawn signs and answering questions at forums. She needed to decide her win number, figure out how many doors to knock, put together campaign literature, and recruit volunteers to help her canvas and fundraise. To figure out which doors to knock, she went to the local Board of Elections and looked up which voters had consistently voted in school board elections—a much smaller number than voters who vote in other elections. And then she concentrated on reaching them through doorknocking.

Once you have gone to someone’s door, written them a letter, talked to them and their families, Bitter says, they are less likely to believe whatever libelous accusations might be made.

She shares this and other wisdom about campaigning for school board in Episode 8 of Democracy and Education.

If you are interested in joining a community of school board members, former members, school board candidates, and folks working on school board campaigns, consider joining Democracy and Education. No dues. No fundraising. All you need to join is a commitment to strengthening public education and democracy. We have monthly national zoom calls and a members-only forum where you can ask questions, make observations, and share your expertise. Just fill out the form on the Connect page and watch for an email from Karin Chenoweth. (Check your spam filter if you don’t hear within a day or so.)