One of the best ways to serve your community is to get involved with your local public schools! The filing period for people interested in running for one of the dozens of open seats on school districts' governing boards opened on July 13, 2026. Roughly half of Sonoma County's school board trustee seats, as well as some seats on the Sonoma County Board of Education will appear on the Nov. 3, 2026, general election ballot.

Candidates for a school district board or the county board must live within the trustee area for which they are seeking election. The county board district boundaries closely align with the district boundaries for the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. To find out which school district you live in, as well as the current school board trustee who represents you, use this tool from the County of Sonoma.

For information about the process to file to run for elected office in Sonoma County, visit the Registrar of Voters’ Candidate Filing hub.

The Sonoma County Office of Education held a candidate information session on June 15, 2026, for people interested in running for school board in the November 2026 general election. Terms on school boards generally last four years, with elections staggered every other November to ensure continuity.  A video of the session appears at the bottom of this post.

The session includes a panel discussion, with current school board trustees and a member of the Sonoma County Board of Education outlining the nature of the role and answering questions about duties, time commitments, expectations, and compensation.

The panel interview is followed by a presentation from representatives from the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters Office, outlining the process and deadlines for filing to run for office.

It concludes with trustees and Registrar’s Office staff answering questions from the audience.