Oklahoma school board elections see lowest unopposed rate in eight-year cycle

In 2021, 48.6% of Oklahoma school board races covered by Ballotpedia will not be on the ballot due to lack of opposition, which is the lowest unopposed rate since Ballotpedia began tracking this figure in 2014. Thirty-five seats are up for election across 26 school districts included in Ballotpedia’s comprehensive coverage in 2021. Candidates ran unopposed in 17 of those races.

Across eight years of tracking, the highest unopposed rate for Oklahoma school board elections occurred in 2015, when 85.7% of races had an unopposed candidate. Below is a list of unopposed rates from 2014 to 2021.

2021: 48.6%2020: 62.1%2019: 53.3%2018: 76.7%2017: 52.9%2016: 80.0%2015: 85.7%2014: 62.5%

The general election for races that do have opposition is scheduled for April 6. For races that had more than two candidates file, the primary election was held on Feb. 9. Candidates were able to win the election outright if they earned more than 50% of the vote in the primary.

The following districts will hold a general election on April 6:

Banner School DistrictCrooked Oak Public SchoolsDeer Creek Public SchoolsEdmond Public SchoolsMidwest City-Del City SchoolsMustang Public SchoolsOklahoma City Public SchoolsOwasso Public SchoolsPiedmont Public SchoolsPutnam City SchoolsTulsa Public SchoolsUnion Public SchoolsWestern Heights Public SchoolsYukon Public Schools

These fourteen school districts served a total of 190,878 students during the 2016-17 school year.

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