School Board Candidate Guide
1ST EDITION • 2025
CANDIDATE PERSONAL ISSUES
Withstanding personal attacks is one of the hardest things for candidates and their families. Mostly, this is a distraction and can take a candidate down a rabbit hole. If you have come out strong and positive in your introduction of yourself and your fellow candidates, you have to let most negativity slide. But you can’t totally ignore it. If you are attacked on an issue in an inappropriate or untruthful way, respond firmly and effectively, and then get back to focusing on your message. Don’t repeat or amplify a negative attack.
Checklist:
- Know your vulnerabilities
- Don’t take personal that which is aimed at you as a candidate
- Prepare your family
- Clean up public social media sites
Using humor can draw positive media attention to candidates being attacked unfairly by their opposition.
Let a volunteer monitor social media so that you don’t get bogged down in feeling bad about the one or two critical comments. Pay more attention to what your volunteers and supporters are saying and doing. Are they sharing your posts about the school board? Are they members of any organized citizen group that is willing to support your candidacy? That’s more important. These are going to be the people who speak up regarding why your being on the school board is critical to protect every child’s right to a high-quality education in our public schools and they may influence others to vote for you or your slate.
Being positive and acting like a winner can go a long way to distinguishing a candidate from opposition that is negative and is denigrating the school district.