School Board 101

What is a School Board?

Almost every School District in Pennsylvania has an elected School Board made up of 9 people who represent specific areas of the district. They are elected by residents to make decisions related to all aspects of PreK-12 education.

What does the School Board do?

The majority of what School Boards do is determined by state law. Their main responsibilities are to:

1. Hire and evaluate the superintendent
2. Determine the rate of the local tax that city residents pay to support schools.
3. Oversee the district’s budget; which is made up of the property taxes paid by homeowners, half of the wage tax paid by people who work in Pittsburgh, the school tax paid by city residents and funds from the state and federal government or private foundations. Currently, the budget of the Pittsburgh Public Schools is approximately 528 million dollars- which is more than the budget for City Council.
4. Set and monitor policies that dictate how the district operates; such as buying and selling school property, determining school openings and closings, determining feeder patterns for schools, approving curriculum and textbooks, ensuring resources are distributed equitably across schools, approving staff changes in the district, approving student transportation plans and field trips and approving all consultants and contractors that work with the district.

Who is on the Pittsburgh Public School Board and How Long Do They Serve?

In order to run for School Board Director, the candidate must live in the district they will represent, be 18 by the time they take office and have never committed a felony. School Board Directors serve as volunteers, so many have careers outside of their role on the Board.

Each School Board Director is elected to serve for a 4 year term. There are no term limits, so a person can serve on the School Board for as long as they continue to win elections. Of all 9 School Board Districts, only about half will be up for re-election in the same year. For example, Districts 2, 4, 6 and 8 get to elect their representative in 2011 and then again in 2015, while Districts 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 get to elect their representative in 2013 and then again in 2017. This is the same for any School District with an elected School Board in Pennsylvania.

How Can I Learn More about the Pittsburgh Public School Board?

Learn about our Board Watch Program