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On Monday, the ISD 197 School Board will consider shifting from odd-year elections to even years, a move that could save $50,000 per election and would extend current terms by one year.
“Elections draw a great deal of attention, and are also a great deal of work,” said ISD 197 School Board Chair Sarah Larsen. “The costs to the district of holding our own odd year election are only going up, and I feel a great responsibility as a school board member to be a good steward of our funding, and focus our funding on our students and staff.”
Prognosis: When the school board initially discussed this change on January 21, they were generally supportive. They expressed concern about extending their own terms, but no alternative has been proposed.
How Elections Work
Since ISD 197 school board positions are the only elections held in odd-years, the costs and implementation burden fall entirely on the school district. Dakota County has advised local districts on new election rules and encouraged districts to switch to even years, where elections would be consolidated and cities would handle the details.
The district’s current odd-year election cycle has been in place since 1999.
Shifting Cycles
“Our board is considering this change at the right time,” said Larsen. “Many other districts have either made the change to even year elections or are discussing it, and we are very much in the minority currently in the metro area school districts by holding an odd year election.”
Only 27 of 331 school districts in Minnesota hold elections during odd years. A majority are in the metro, where school district boundaries cross city lines and can create potential confusion. But still only one-third of metro districts have odd-year elections, and that’s likely to change as other districts consider shifting to even years.
Pros and Cons
A few pros and cons for making the switch:
- Pro: Costs in time and money: Running elections costs the district approximately $50,000 and also significant time for the school district election clerk.
- Pro: Voter confusion: Precincts are combined for odd-year elections, so they’re often held at different polling places. Also, absentee voting happens through the district instead of the county as it does for even years.
- Pro: Turnout: Voters show up in even-year elections at a substantially higher rate. Contested school board elections have turnouts around 20%, while West St. Paul City Council races have turnout ranging from 55% to 83% in the last few years (turnout varies based on contested elections, mid-term vs. presidential year, etc.).
- Con: Crowded ballot: Even year elections also include city, county, state, and federal seats, so there is a fear school board races could be overlooked amid the many other races. For example, in 2026 West St. Paul voters will have races for City Council, mayor, county commissioner, sheriff, county attorney, state representative, state senator, governor, secretary of state, attorney general, auditor, U.S. representative, and U.S. senator (plus judicial seats). That long ballot could get especially crowded since school board races have no primary. In 2021, there were 10 candidates on the ballot for school board.
How It Would Work
The ISD 197 School Board meets on Monday, February 3 to consider the change. If they pass the resolution, the next election would be held on Nov. 3, 2026. Current board members would see their term extended by one year each to align with the new election cycle.
- Board members elected in 2021 for a term ending this year would serve another year and be on the ballot in 2026. Those members are Marcus Hill, Sarah Larsen, and Jon Vaupel.
- Board members elected in 2023 for a term ending in 2027 would serve another year and be on the ballot in 2028. Those members are Tim Aune, Morgan Steele, Byron Schwab, and Randi Walz.
The district would still have the option of hosting special elections at any time.
Feb. 3, 2025 Update: Approved
The ISD 197 School Board voted unanimously to approve the shift to even-year elections.
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2 Responses
There is a straightforward alternative to extending the current terms: defer the change until next term. 2025 elections would be held as scheduled, but the subsequent elections would be in either 2030 (extending the term) or 2028 (shortening the term).
This is a pretty classic way for a legislative body to handle necessary legislation that advantages itself, like the way Congress can’t increase its own salary but can increase the salary of the *next* Congress, or how certain plans for reforming the Supreme Court are phased in over several elections. It would avoid the optics of a body of legislators literally voting to keep themselves in power beyond the end of their (original) terms.
I don’t personally care very much. My kids aren’t in the district schools, the ISD 197 School Board is not exactly a coveted throne of power, and I strongly suspect that every incumbent will win re-election no matter when they next face the voters. Moreover, I *do* support the move away from off-year elections, which only exist to suppress turnout. Therefore, I don’t plan to raise a stink if the current board extends their own terms.
But your reporting that they didn’t see any alternative made me think that maybe I ought to suggest the obvious one!
P.S. What rich text editor are you using for these comboxes, WSPR? I just noticed how lovely it is.
Never said there was no alternative, said none was proposed. 😉 And any site loveliness is all WordPress.