{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-5-107a","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 70, § 70-5-107A","heading":"Boards of education of school districts - Membership -","body":"Election procedure.\n\nThe following provisions and the provisions of Section 13A-101\n\net seq. of Title 26 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall govern the\n\nelection of members of the board of education for a school district:\n\nA. For purposes of this section, temporary positions added to a\n\nboard of education pursuant to Section 7-101 or 7-105 of this title\n\nand the chair of the board of education elected pursuant to Section\n\n1 of this act shall not be considered in determining the size of the\n\nboard. The number and term of each board of education shall be as\n\nfollows:\n\nDistrict Members Term (Years)\n\nElementary 3 3\n\nIndependent\n\n1. Districts having a five-member\n\nboard 5 5\n\n2. Districts having a seven-\n\nmember board unless an\n\nelection is conducted\n\npursuant to subsection C of\n\nthis section 7 4\n\nB. In all school districts, the members of the board of\n\neducation shall be elected as follows:\n\n1. a. Between August 1 and December 31 of the year following\n\nthe submission by the United States Department of\n\nCommerce to the President of the United States of the\n\nofficial Federal Decennial Census, the board of\n\neducation shall reapportion the territory of the\n\nschool district into board districts. Beginning with\n\nthe reapportionment following the 1990 Federal\n\nDecennial Census, all boundaries of board districts\n\nshall follow clearly visible, definable and observable\n\nphysical boundaries which are based upon criteria\n\nestablished and recognized by the Bureau of the Census\n\nof the United States Department of Commerce for\n\npurposes of defining census blocks for its decennial\n\ncensus and shall follow, as much as is possible,\n\nprecinct boundaries. Board districts shall be\n\ncompact, contiguous and shall be as equal in\n\npopulation as practical with not more than a ten\n\npercent (10%) variance between the most populous and\n\nleast populous board districts.\n\nb. School districts having fewer than one thousand eight\n\nhundred (1,800) students in average daily membership\n\nduring the preceding school year may choose not to\n\nestablish board districts and may nominate and elect\n\nall board members at large.\n\nc. Elementary school districts shall have board members\n\nelected at large.\n\nd. A city located in an independent school district\n\nhaving four or more wards and an outlying area with\n\nsuch outlying area comprising no more than twenty\n\npercent (20%) of the population of such independent\n\nschool district, then such independent school district\n\nmay adopt such wards and outlying area in lieu of the\n\nboard districts provided for in subparagraph a of this\n\nparagraph, and at least one member of the board of\n\neducation of such independent school district shall be\n\na member of each ward; and\n\n2. One member of the board of education shall be elected by the\n\nelectors of the school district to represent each such board\n\ndistrict. Provided, however, that in any school district where the\n\nelectors of each board district, rather than the electors of the\n\nentire school district, elect board members to represent that board\n\ndistrict, that district shall elect board members in that manner.\n\nIf during the term of office to which a person was elected, that\n\nmember ceases to be a resident of the board district for which the\n\nperson was elected, the office shall become vacant and such vacancy\n\nshall be filled as provided in Section 13A-110 of Title 26 of the\n\nOklahoma Statutes; and\n\n3. In a school district having more than ten thousand (10,000)\n\nchildren in average daily membership, the following provision and\n\nthe provisions of Section 13A-101 et seq. of Title 26 of the\n\nOklahoma Statutes shall control as to election of the members of the\n\nschool district's board of education:\n\na. There shall be held an election in which the electors\n\nof each board district in which a term is expiring or\n\nin which a vacancy exists shall select two candidates\n\nfrom among the candidates for board member to\n\nrepresent the board district,\nof Section 13A-101 et seq. of Title 26 of the\n\nOklahoma Statutes shall control as to election of the members of the\n\nschool district's board of education:\n\na. There shall be held an election in which the electors\n\nof each board district in which a term is expiring or\n\nin which a vacancy exists shall select two candidates\n\nfrom among the candidates for board member to\n\nrepresent the board district,\n\nb. If, in the election, one candidate has a majority of\n\nall votes cast, then a run-off election is not\n\nrequired. If no candidate receives a majority of all\n\nvotes cast, then the two candidates receiving the\n\ngreatest number of votes shall become the candidates\n\nfor the board district in the general election, and\n\nc. At the run-off election, all of the electors of the\n\nboard district shall select one of the two candidates\n\nas the member of the board of education representing\n\nthe board district.\n\nC. Any seven-member board shall have the option of reducing its\n\nboard to a five-member board either after approval of a board\n\nresolution or a vote of the electors of the school district to take\n\nsuch action pursuant to Section 13A-109 of Title 26 of the Oklahoma\n\nStatutes. The election pursuant to a vote of the electors of the\n\nschool district shall be called upon the submission of a petition\n\nrequesting the election signed by ten percent (10%) of the school\n\ndistrict electors in the school district, the percentage being\n\napplied to the highest number of voters voting in a regular school\n\ndistrict election in the district in the preceding five (5) years as\n\ndetermined by the secretary of the county election board, who shall\n\ncertify the adequacy of the number of signatures on the petition.\n\nIf the question is put before the voters of the district, such\n\nelection shall be held along with and at the same time and place as\n\nthe next school election if all requirements of Section 13A-101 et\n\nseq. of Title 26 of the Oklahoma Statutes for such election are met.\n\nAfter such resolution or election, the board shall reapportion\n\nthe district, determining by resolution or by lot which board member\n\noffices shall be abolished at the end of the current board member's\n\nterm and which shall become one of the offices of the new board.\n\nElection of the resulting board members shall be carried out\n\naccording to procedures stated in this section and Section 13A-101\n\net seq. of Title 26 of the Oklahoma Statutes.\n\nSchool board members currently serving in offices abolished\n\npursuant to this subsection shall continue serving until the end of\n\ntheir current terms as at-large members.\n\nD. Except for the chair of the board of education elected\n\npursuant to Section 1 of this act, offices of members of the board\n\nof education shall be designated by consecutive numbers and shall\n\ncorrespond with board districts when applicable.\n\nE. Except for those members elected prior to July 1, 1992, the\n\nterms of office of the members of a five-member board of education\n\nshall commence on the first regular, special or emergency school\n\nboard meeting after the date of the annual school election and after\n\nthe member has been certified as elected:\n\nOffice No. 1 1991\n\nOffice No. 2 1992\n\nOffice No. 3 1993\n\nOffice No. 4 1994\n\nOffice No. 5 1995\n\nThe terms of office of the members of a seven-member board of\n\neducation shall be staggered, with one member being elected in 1991,\n\ntwo members being elected in 1992, two members being elected in 1993\n\nand two members being elected in 1994 and shall commence on the\n\nfirst regular, special or emergency school board meeting after the\n\ndate of the annual school election and after the member has been\n\ncertified as elected; provided, in districts needing to elect two\n\nmembers in 1991 to maintain a full complement of board members, two\n\nmembers shall be elected in 1991, one for a full term and one for a\nd two members being elected in 1994 and shall commence on the\n\nfirst regular, special or emergency school board meeting after the\n\ndate of the annual school election and after the member has been\n\ncertified as elected; provided, in districts needing to elect two\n\nmembers in 1991 to maintain a full complement of board members, two\n\nmembers shall be elected in 1991, one for a full term and one for a\n\none-year term, as determined by the local board. If a seven-member\n\nboard is formed upon consolidation pursuant to Section 7-105 of this\n\ntitle, or upon annexation pursuant to Section 7-101 of this title,\n\nthe formation agreement shall specify initial short terms as\n\nnecessary to extend until the beginning of the regular terms for\n\nseven-member boards established herein.\n\nUpon reduction of a seven-member board pursuant to subsection C\n\nof this section, the terms of the five-member board shall be\n\nstaggered pursuant to this subsection.\n\nOne member of a three-member board of education shall be elected\n\neach year, and the terms of office shall commence on the first\n\nregular, special or emergency school board meeting after the member\n\nhas been certified as elected.\n\nF. The term of office of each board member elected after July\n\n1, 1992, shall commence on the first regular, special or emergency\n\nschool board meeting after the date of the annual school election\n\nand after the member has been certified as elected. Board members\n\nelected prior to July 1, 1992, may remain in office until their\n\nsuccessor is elected and seated pursuant to Sections 13A-101 through\n\n13A-111 of Title 26 of the Oklahoma Statutes. The remaining term of\n\nany member who completes the term for which the member was elected\n\nbut not wishing to serve until the successor of the member takes\n\noffice on the first regular, special or emergency school board\n\nmeeting after the successor has been certified as elected, shall be\n\nfilled by appointment by the remaining members of the board of\n\neducation.","path":["OK Code","Title 70"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os70.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"6029fed30bfb7490f88546da85937760215447ccbe72034c40c424bfb0a4f37a","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-5-106a","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-70-70-5-107b"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}