Local school board candidates usually don鈥檛 get much attention, even though they鈥檙e elected in what are considered to be 鈥渙ff year鈥� elections. But that may be different this year, as there are more people running for school boards this year than in the recent past.

The Ohio School Boards Association reports more than 2,600 candidates are running for school boards this year 鈥� a 50% increase from school board races four years ago. Many of the candidates are running for the first time, the organization鈥檚 Jeff Chambers said

鈥淭his year, we have 1,287 people running for the first time. In 2019, we had 807,鈥� he said.

The organization has been working to recruit new school board members.

But while those races are nonpartisan, school board meetings have become ground zero for culture wars. Heated debates have taken place over wearing masks, vaccine mandates or how to address racial diversity and teaching, with Republican candidates in particular aggressively targeting those issues.

Nationwide, some candidates and board members have felt so threatened and attacked that they鈥檝e quit.