Washington school board elections, 2025
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Elections
The table below contains links to all school board elections covered by Ballotpedia in 2025 in this state. This list may not include all school districts that held elections in 2025. Ballotpedia's coverage included all school districts in the100 largest cities by population and the200 largest school districts by student enrollment.
Editor's note: Some school districts choose to cancel the primary election, or both the primary and general election, if the number of candidates who filed does not meet a certain threshold. The table below does not reflect which primary or general elections were canceled. Please click through to each school district's page for more information.
| 2025 Washington School Board Elections | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Primary | General Election | General Runoff Election | Regular term length | Seats up for election | Total board seats | 2022-2023 enrollment |
| Cheney School District | 8/5/2025 | 11/4/2025 | N/A | 4 | 2 | 5 | 5,540 |
| Lake Washington School District | 8/5/2025 | 11/4/2025 | N/A | 4 | 2 | 5 | 30,991 |
| Seattle Public Schools | 8/5/2025 | 11/4/2025 | N/A | 4 | 4 | 7 | 51,238 |
| Spokane Public Schools | 8/5/2025 | 11/4/2025 | N/A | 6 | 4 | 5 | 28,714 |
Recalls
- See also:Recall campaigns in Washington andSchool board recalls
| State | Specific grounds required? | Signature requirement | Petition circulation time | When recalls can start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | Yes: "acts of malfeasance or misfeasance while in office or violation of oath of office"[1] | 25% of votes cast for the office at the last election[2] | 180 days | Recalls can start at any time |
2025 school board recalls
| School district | Number of officeholders | Status of officeholders |
|---|---|---|
| Kent School District | 2 | Tim Clark:Did not go to a vote Meghin Margel:Did not go to a vote |
Academic performance
- See also:Public education in Washington
The sections below do not contain the most recently published data on this subject. If you would like to help our coverage grow, considerdonating to Ballotpedia.
| Education terms |
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| For more information on education policy terms, seethis article. |
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NAEP scores
- See also:NAEP scores by state
The National Center for Education Statistics provides state-by-state data on student achievement levels in mathematics and reading in theNational Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The table below presents the percentage of fourth and eighth grade students that scored at or above proficient in reading and math during school year 2012-2013. Compared to three neighboring states (Idaho, Montana, and Oregon),Washington had the highest percentage of students score at or above proficient in all categories.[3]
| Percent of students scoring at or above proficient, 2012-2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Math - Grade 4 | Math - Grade 8 | Reading - Grade 4 | Reading - Grade 8 | |
| Washington | 48% | 42% | 40% | 42% |
| Idaho | 40% | 36% | 33% | 38% |
| Montana | 45% | 40% | 35% | 40% |
| Oregon | 40% | 34% | 33% | 37% |
| United States | 41% | 34% | 34% | 34% |
| Source:United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables" | ||||
Graduation, ACT and SAT scores
The following table shows the graduation rates and average composite ACT and SAT scores for Washington and surrounding states during the 2012-2013 school year. All statements made in this section refer to that school year.[3][4][5]
In the United States, public schools reported graduation rates that averaged to about 81.4 percent. About 54 percent of all students in the country took the ACT, while 50 percent reported taking the SAT. The average national composite scores for those tests were 20.9 out of a possible 36 for the ACT, and 1498 out of a possible 2400 for the SAT.[6]
Washington schools reported agraduation rate of 76.4 percent during the 2012-2013 school year, second highest among its neighboring states.
In Washington, more students took the SAT than the ACT in 2013, earning anaverage SAT score of 1537.
| Comparison table for graduation rates and test scores, 2012-2013 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Graduation rate, 2013 | Average ACT composite, 2013 | Average SAT composite, 2013 | ||||
| Percent | Quintile ranking** | Score | Participation rate | Score | Participation rate | ||
| Washington | 76.4% | Fourth | 22.8 | 21% | 1537 | 60% | |
| Idaho | N/A | N/A | 22.1 | 49% | 1364 | 99% | |
| Montana | 84.4% | Third | 21.3 | 72% | 1595 | 25% | |
| Oregon | 68.7% | Fifth | 21.5 | 34% | 1539 | 49% | |
| United States | 81.4% | 20.9 | 54% | 1498 | 50% | ||
| **Graduation rates for states in the first quintile ranked in the top 20 percent nationally. Similarly, graduation rates for states in the fifth quintile ranked in the bottom 20 percent nationally. Sources:United States Department of Education, "ED Data Express" ACT.org, "2013 ACT National and State Scores" The Commonwealth Foundation, "SAT scores by state, 2013" | |||||||
Dropout rate
- See also:Public high school dropout rates by state for a full comparison of dropout rates by group in all states
The high school eventdropout rate indicates the proportion of students who were enrolled at some time during the school year and were expected to be enrolled in grades nine through 12 in the following school year but were not enrolled by October 1 of the following school year. Students who have graduated, transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts. The average public high school event dropout rate for the United States remained constant at 3.3 percent for both school year 2010–2011 and school year 2011–2012. The event dropout rate for Washington was higher than the national average at 4 percent in the 2010-2011 school year, and 3.8 percent in the 2011-2012 school year.[7]
State profile
State profile
| Demographic data for Washington | ||
|---|---|---|
| Washington | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 7,160,290 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 66,456 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 77.8% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 3.6% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 7.7% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 1.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.6% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 5.2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 12% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 90.4% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 32.9% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $61,062 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 14.4% | 11.3% |
| Source:U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Clickhere for more information on the 2020 census andhere for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Washington. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the censushere. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
Washingtonvoted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted forDonald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting forBarack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won thesePivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in Washington, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.[8]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won asRetained Pivot Counties and those won byJoe Biden (D) asBoomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Washington had four Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 2.21 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.
More Washington coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Washington
- United States congressional delegations from Washington
- Public policy in Washington
- Endorsers in Washington
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Pivot Counties
Pivot Counties
- See also:Pivot Counties by state
Five of 39 Washington counties—12.8 percent—arePivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted forBarack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and forDonald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.
| Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | Trump margin of victory in 2016 | Obama margin of victory in 2012 | Obama margin of victory in 2008 | ||||
| Clallam County, Washington | 2.76% | 0.38% | 3.30% | ||||
| Cowlitz County, Washington | 13.32% | 4.44% | 11.15% | ||||
| Grays Harbor County, Washington | 6.99% | 14.11% | 14.56% | ||||
| Mason County, Washington | 5.81% | 7.09% | 8.66% | ||||
| Pacific County, Washington | 6.74% | 11.52% | 14.07% | ||||
In the 2016 presidential election,Hillary Clinton (D) won Washington with 52.5 percent of the vote.Donald Trump (R) received 36.8 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Washington cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 73.3 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Washington supported Democratic candidates for president more often than Republican candidates, 53.3 to 43.3 percent. The state favored Democrats in every election between 2000 and 2016.
Presidential results by legislative district
The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Washington. Click[show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled byDaily Kos.[9][10]
| In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 34 out of 49 state House districts in Washington with an average margin of victory of 25.4 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 30 out of 49 state House districts in Washington with an average margin of victory of 32.1 points. |
| In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 15 out of 49 state House districts in Washington with an average margin of victory of 13.9 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 19 out of 49 state House districts in Washington with an average margin of victory of 14.9 points. |
| 2016 presidential results by state House district | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Obama | Romney | 2012 Margin | Clinton | Trump | 2016 Margin | |
| 1 | 59.66% | 37.93% | D+21.7 | 61.73% | 30.36% | D+31.4 | |
| 2 | 47.71% | 49.88% | R+2.2 | 37.79% | 53.05% | R+15.3 | |
| 3 | 57.66% | 38.63% | D+19 | 51.82% | 38.12% | D+13.7 | |
| 4 | 40.00% | 57.37% | R+17.4 | 34.91% | 56.36% | R+21.4 | |
| 5 | 53.41% | 44.29% | D+9.1 | 54.74% | 37.12% | D+17.6 | |
| 6 | 46.76% | 50.72% | R+4 | 44.72% | 46.75% | R+2 | |
| 7 | 36.16% | 61.01% | R+24.9 | 29.00% | 63.45% | R+34.5 | |
| 8 | 36.10% | 61.49% | R+25.4 | 34.54% | 57.03% | R+22.5 | |
| 9 | 37.70% | 59.71% | R+22 | 35.13% | 56.40% | R+21.3 | |
| 10 | 50.21% | 47.38% | D+2.8 | 46.94% | 45.07% | D+1.9 | |
| 11 | 67.51% | 30.27% | D+37.2 | 67.74% | 25.40% | D+42.3 | |
| 12 | 39.91% | 57.67% | R+17.8 | 37.34% | 55.97% | R+18.6 | |
| 13 | 35.70% | 61.75% | R+26 | 31.04% | 61.91% | R+30.9 | |
| 14 | 42.63% | 54.97% | R+12.3 | 38.98% | 54.23% | R+15.2 | |
| 15 | 45.75% | 52.31% | R+6.6 | 42.51% | 51.74% | R+9.2 | |
| 16 | 38.20% | 59.21% | R+21 | 36.00% | 56.67% | R+20.7 | |
| 17 | 48.28% | 49.36% | R+1.1 | 45.51% | 46.88% | R+1.4 | |
| 18 | 43.85% | 54.12% | R+10.3 | 42.36% | 50.56% | R+8.2 | |
| 19 | 53.59% | 43.66% | D+9.9 | 41.57% | 50.52% | R+8.9 | |
| 20 | 40.98% | 56.26% | R+15.3 | 30.96% | 61.41% | R+30.4 | |
| 21 | 61.52% | 36.25% | D+25.3 | 62.27% | 30.19% | D+32.1 | |
| 22 | 63.17% | 33.68% | D+29.5 | 60.67% | 30.15% | D+30.5 | |
| 23 | 57.91% | 39.72% | D+18.2 | 56.69% | 34.37% | D+22.3 | |
| 24 | 54.21% | 42.81% | D+11.4 | 48.95% | 43.35% | D+5.6 | |
| 25 | 50.87% | 46.92% | D+4 | 45.23% | 46.56% | R+1.3 | |
| 26 | 49.33% | 48.06% | D+1.3 | 45.36% | 45.35% | D+0 | |
| 27 | 67.29% | 30.00% | D+37.3 | 65.15% | 26.43% | D+38.7 | |
| 28 | 54.44% | 43.37% | D+11.1 | 52.61% | 38.96% | D+13.7 | |
| 29 | 62.55% | 34.97% | D+27.6 | 54.47% | 36.76% | D+17.7 | |
| 30 | 58.70% | 39.18% | D+19.5 | 56.77% | 35.96% | D+20.8 | |
| 31 | 47.88% | 49.93% | R+2.1 | 41.61% | 50.16% | R+8.5 | |
| 32 | 70.64% | 26.92% | D+43.7 | 71.67% | 21.56% | D+50.1 | |
| 33 | 65.65% | 32.25% | D+33.4 | 64.85% | 28.57% | D+36.3 | |
| 34 | 77.41% | 20.25% | D+57.2 | 79.30% | 14.85% | D+64.4 | |
| 35 | 51.47% | 45.95% | D+5.5 | 44.25% | 46.59% | R+2.3 | |
| 36 | 81.82% | 15.34% | D+66.5 | 85.25% | 9.15% | D+76.1 | |
| 37 | 86.30% | 11.18% | D+75.1 | 87.06% | 8.13% | D+78.9 | |
| 38 | 59.99% | 37.08% | D+22.9 | 53.38% | 37.81% | D+15.6 | |
| 39 | 49.44% | 47.52% | D+1.9 | 40.00% | 50.75% | R+10.7 | |
| 40 | 62.09% | 34.70% | D+27.4 | 62.61% | 29.29% | D+33.3 | |
| 41 | 60.00% | 38.22% | D+21.8 | 67.76% | 26.09% | D+41.7 | |
| 42 | 49.67% | 47.37% | D+2.3 | 47.57% | 44.43% | D+3.1 | |
| 43 | 85.99% | 10.63% | D+75.4 | 88.74% | 5.96% | D+82.8 | |
| 44 | 54.08% | 43.61% | D+10.5 | 50.96% | 40.24% | D+10.7 | |
| 45 | 58.18% | 39.63% | D+18.6 | 64.80% | 28.03% | D+36.8 | |
| 46 | 78.25% | 19.15% | D+59.1 | 81.92% | 12.42% | D+69.5 | |
| 47 | 55.53% | 42.30% | D+13.2 | 54.37% | 38.29% | D+16.1 | |
| 48 | 61.67% | 35.86% | D+25.8 | 68.17% | 25.02% | D+43.2 | |
| 49 | 57.30% | 40.04% | D+17.3 | 54.21% | 37.87% | D+16.3 | |
| Total | 56.16% | 41.29% | D+14.9 | 54.30% | 38.07% | D+16.2 | |
| Source:Daily Kos | |||||||
Additional elections
- See also:Washington elections, 2025
Historical analysis
Ballotpedia did not cover school board elections in school districts in Washington in 2024.Click here to read the full report on school board election analysis across the country in 2024.
See also
| Washington | School Boards | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
Footnotes
- ↑National Conference of State Legislatures, "Recall of Local Officials," accessed July 27, 2021
- ↑Washington Constitution, "Article I, Section 34," accessed February 10, 2023
- ↑3.03.1United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ACT, "2012 ACT National and State Scores," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑Commonwealth Foundation, "SAT Scores by State 2013," October 10, 2013
- ↑StudyPoints, "What's a good SAT score or ACT score?" accessed June 7, 2015
- ↑United States Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data (CCD), State Dropout and Graduation Rate Data File, School Year 2010-11, Provision Version 1a and School Year 2011-12, Preliminary Version 1a," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip ofAtlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
- ↑Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
- ↑Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
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