Local news stories made it clear that school boards faced heightened conflict during the COVID-19 pandemic. But a new national survey of school board members paints a clearer picture about how members themselves perceive political and ideological divisions, how those tensions affect their work, and what motivates them to continue serving at a time when conflict still remains above pre-pandemic levels.
The Brookings Institution released results of the nationally representative survey of 1,000 school board members from 700 districts on June 5. Researchers weighted the survey results, collected between October 2024 and January 2025, by enrollment to make national projections of how many students attended districts affected by political tension. Brookings released the findings as part of a larger research project that explored school board conflict and engagement.
Twenty-three percent of respondents to the survey said “COVID and culture war conflicts” had negatively affected their boards’ ability to govern in recent years. Researchers project that about 28% of students nationwide attend districts where such conflicts affect board governance.
Here are five key findings.
1. Conflict between school boards and their communities remains above pre-pandemic levels
Eight percent of U.S. students attend schools in districts that had “a lot” of board-community conflict before the pandemic, the researchers projected using the survey findings. That figure rose to 47% of students after COVID-related disruptions, they found.
Weighting results by enrollment shows that students in “purple” districts—where voters favored President Donald Trump or former President Joe Biden by a margin of less than 5% in the 2020 election—had the biggest increase in conflict in their districts during the pandemic era. Regardless of their districts’ political leanings, more students attend districts where members say there is a “lot of conflict” now compared to before the pandemic.
Twenty-three percent of board members representing 28% of students said “COVID-19 and culture war conflicts"—over issues like COVID masking, remote learning, critical race theory, and transgender student policies—negatively affected their boards’ ability to govern.
2. School board factions are widespread
Members also reported conflicts within their own boards. Thirty-eight percent of survey respondents said their boards are divided into factions. The most common divisions were by political affiliation, race, and other unspecified factors.
3. School board members view their own districts more favorably than public schools across the country
Asked to rate the performance of schools in their own districts, 47% of members gave a B grade, and 25% gave an A grade. That’s higher than their opinions of the nation’s schools as a whole; 55% gave them a C and 23% gave them an A.
That mirrors trends in the greater population. An annual Gallup poll consistently finds that American parents are significantly more satisfied with their own children’s schools than with schools in the country as a whole.
4. Making an impact motivates members to run for reelection
Despite political divisions, most board members, 52%, said they will “definitely” or “probably” seek another term.
Asked why they wanted to continue to serve, most board members said they are “making a positive impact,” they want a chance to represent their communities, and they enjoy the work.
5. Time is a big motivator for ending board service
Board members who said they “definitely” or “probably” wouldn’t run again had a broader range of reasons for their decisions. The highest reason was “other,” followed by time constraints and a sense they’d already accomplished their goals. Thirteen percent said conflicts within the board were a factor.
