Most school board members in the United States are not paid. A National School Boards Association survey found 61% receive no annual salary and 73% receive no per-meeting stipend. So the honest answer to whether school board members get paid is: usually no, sometimes a small stipend, and in a handful of large urban districts, an actual salary that can reach six figures.
The Three Pay Arrangements
Board compensation falls into three buckets: nothing, a small stipend, or a modest salary.
No payment is the most common setup, especially in small and mid-sized districts. Members serve as unpaid volunteers and treat the seat as civic service.
Stipends are the middle option. A district might pay a flat annual amount, a per-meeting fee, or both. Indiana, for example, allows board members to receive up to $2,000 per year plus per-meeting payments capped at $112. These payments recognize the time involved without functioning as a wage.
Salaries appear mainly in the largest districts. Among the ten biggest school districts in the 2017–2018 school year, annual pay ranged from $0 to $125,000. Los Angeles Unified paid members with no outside employment up to $125,000, while members who held other jobs received $50,000. New York City, Chicago, and Houston paid their board members nothing.1Ballotpedia. School Board Salaries in Americas Largest School Districts
Other figures from that same group of large districts:
- Miami-Dade, Broward, Hillsborough, Orange County, and Palm Beach in Florida: $42,570 per year, set by state law.
- Clark County, Nevada: $9,000 per year.
Denver’s school board voted to pay incoming elected members up to $33,000 annually, part of a push in some cities to make board service accessible to people who can’t afford to work for free.1Ballotpedia. School Board Salaries in Americas Largest School Districts
What Determines Whether a District Pays
State law comes first. Some states prohibit compensation outright and treat the role as strictly voluntary. Others cap what a district can pay. The rest leave it to local discretion. That’s why a board member in one state can earn a livable salary while a member doing the same work across the state line earns nothing.
District size is the second factor. Larger districts run bigger budgets, employ more staff, and handle more complex policy work, which makes paying board members easier to justify. Smaller rural districts often have neither the budget nor the community appetite for it.
Where state law permits pay, the actual decision usually happens locally, either through board policy or a public vote. Proposing pay for board members is often politically contentious, which is one reason so many seats remain unpaid even when the law would allow compensation.
Expense Reimbursement Is Not the Same as Pay
Even districts that pay board members nothing typically reimburse legitimate expenses. Conference travel, registration fees, mileage, lodging, and meals tied to board business are commonly covered. This isn’t compensation. It’s the district covering costs the member wouldn’t have had otherwise.
Districts generally require receipts and a clear connection to board duties before paying anything out. Personal travel and unrelated meals don’t qualify. Each district sets its own caps and documentation rules.
Taxes on Board Member Pay
Any stipend, per diem, or salary you receive for school board service is taxable income. The IRS treats fees for services as gross income and specifically lists payments to corporate directors and election precinct officials as examples of taxable fees. Board compensation falls under the same principle.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 – Taxable and Nontaxable Income
How the money reaches you depends on how the district classifies you. Some districts treat board members as employees and withhold income tax and FICA. Others treat the pay as fees to an independent officeholder, which means a 1099 if payments total $600 or more, and possibly self-employment tax.
The self-employment piece has a wrinkle. Performing the functions of a public office is generally excluded from “trade or business” for self-employment tax purposes. That exclusion does not apply to state and local officials paid solely on a fee basis whose positions aren’t covered by a Social Security agreement between the state and the federal government.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1402 – Definitions Whether you owe self-employment tax on a board stipend depends on how your state handles Social Security coverage for local officials, so a tax professional familiar with your state’s setup is worth a call.
Reimbursements are treated differently. If the district uses an accountable plan, meaning you document business purpose and return any excess, the reimbursement isn’t taxable. A flat expense allowance paid without documentation is taxable.
How to Find Your District’s Numbers
Board compensation is public information. Start with the district website. Most districts post their annual budget, and any board member compensation shows up as a line item. Meeting minutes, which districts must keep and make available, also record any votes on compensation.
If nothing useful is online, submit a public records request to the district office. Every state has an open-records law that covers school districts, and compensation for public officials is squarely within scope. You don’t have to explain why you’re asking.
State departments of education sometimes compile financial data across districts, which helps if you want to compare. Local news archives are another practical route, since reporters routinely cover board budgets and any vote to change what members are paid.