Right now, every one of MCPASD's 9 school board seats is locked to a geographic Area. Good candidates get shut out because their house sits a few blocks across an Area line — and elections go uncontested. This petition opens 4 of the 9 seats to any district resident, while keeping 5 geographic so every Area still has a guaranteed voice.
MCPASD already has a 9-member board. Every seat is tied to one of five geographic Areas — and a candidate must live inside that Area to run for that seat. It sounds fair. In practice, it builds walls around who can serve.
A neighbor four houses on the wrong side of an Area line is barred from running for a seat they're perfectly qualified to hold. That's an artificial barrier — and it's why so many of our elections have no race at all.
We're not adding seats or removing anyone. The board stays at 9. We're changing how the 9 are allocated — keeping geographic representation while opening the door for more people to run.
Wisconsin's petition process has two steps. Both matter.
We need at least 500 signatures from qualified MCPASD electors (Wis. Stat. § 120.02(2)(a)). We're aiming for 550 to cushion against invalid signatures.
Sign now →MCPASD is a common school district, so the vote happens at the Annual Meeting — only electors physically present can vote. About 30 people came in 2025. We need hundreds.
Tue Sept 22, 2026 · 7:00 PM
District Services Center
7106 South Avenue, Middleton
Wisconsin law only counts a pen-and-paper signature on an official petition sheet with a circulator's certification — there is no legal online signature. Sign up here and we'll get a paper sheet into your hands fast, or point you to the nearest signing location.
Download, print, sign with a pen, have your circulator complete the certification at the bottom, and return to a drop-off location. One sheet holds 7 signatures.
PDF · Counsel-reviewed · Circulator certification per Wis. Stat. § 8.40 included.
Collect signatures from your own neighbors — a 10-minute training and we hand you a packet of sheets.
Questions? petition@openseatsmcpasd.org
It's easier to sign a paper sheet at an event than to wait for one in the mail. Come say hi.
When elections go uncontested year after year, it's not because no one cares. It's because the rules are quietly keeping people out. We're changing the rules.— The Open Seats MCPASD organizing team
Circulators are neighbors who collect signatures from other neighbors — the single highest-leverage thing you can do. We train you in 10 minutes.
No. The board has 9 seats today and will still have 9. The petition changes how the seats are allocated — keeping 5 tied to geographic Areas and converting 4 into open at-large seats any district resident can run for.
When every seat is locked to an Area, most residents can't run in most years. A qualified neighbor whose home is just outside the Area with an open seat is barred from running. The result is too many uncontested elections — in April 2025, all three open seats had only one candidate. Four open seats give voters real choices.
Correct. MCPASD is a common school district, and under Wis. Stat. § 120.02(2)(a) apportionment changes are voted on at the district's Annual Meeting. Only electors physically present vote. It's Tue Sept 22, 2026 at 7:00 PM at the District Services Center, 7106 South Ave, Middleton.
500 elector signatures, per Wis. Stat. § 120.02(2)(a). The 500 threshold applies because MCPASD contains territory in Madison, a 2nd-class city. The petition must be filed at least 30 days before the Annual Meeting — deadline Sun Aug 23, 2026. We aim for 550 to cushion against invalid signatures.
No. Conversion happens gradually at each seat's natural re-election point, starting with the Spring 2027 election. Every current member serves out their full term.
No. Every Area keeps one guaranteed geographic seat. Today some Areas have one seat and Area IV has four — the petition makes geographic representation equal (one per Area) and adds four seats open to everyone.
Neither partisan nor funded. It's a structural governance change — no PAC, no organization, no outside money. Parents fund printing and the domain themselves. Any contribution will be disclosed publicly.
You can't sign, but you can share with friends who do, help with press/social media, or chip in for printing. Use the volunteer form above.
Sign by Aug 23. Show up Sept 22.
That's how we open the ballot.