Over 700 school board seats are up for election this fall, and getting someone to run for those seats may be the biggest challenge. Mary Gammon of the Iowa Association of School Boards says you gain a lot from serving on a school board and she thinks the most important is guiding the education of children.. School board members serve three-year terms and set the district’s educational agenda. Gammon says they also control large amounts of money, from millions to hundreds of millions, depending on the district.Write-in candidates are common across the state; some Iowa school districts depend on them to fill board seats. There’s rarely tough competition for a seat on the school board, though.In order to serve on a school board in Iowa, you must be at least 18 years old, be a resident of the district in which you are running, and be able to collect signatures supporting your campaign for the board. August 2nd is the deadline for candidates to submit their petition signatures to get their names on the ballot. School board elections are September 11th.