Minnesota School Boards Association

What Minnesota School Boards Association does

The Minnesota School Boards Association (MSBA) is a private, nonprofit membership association founded in 1920 and headquartered at 1900 West Jefferson Avenue, St. Peter, Minnesota. Its mission is to support, promote, and enhance the work of public school boards and public education throughout the state. MSBA serves Minnesota public school boards and eligible charter schools, a membership base that spans essentially the entire universe of public education governance entities in the state. The organization employs more than 20 staff members with over 150 years of combined experience in governance, management, finance, communications, policy, legal matters, elections, and advocacy, and is led by Executive Director Kirk Schneidawind.

MSBA's core products and services include the four-phase "Learning to Lead" board development workshop series, policy services and audits, executive search services for superintendent hiring, strategic planning facilitation, the OnBoard U digital learning hub (launched 2026), the weekly MSBA Leader Newsletter, the MSBA Journal Magazine, Third Thursday Webinars, an administrative job postings platform, and direct phone/email staff consultations. The wholly-owned subsidiary Minnesota School Boards Association Insurance Trust (MSBAIT) provides risk management solutions including the Risk Protection Program, Group Life/Long-Term Disability Program, and Advanced Protection Program, distributed through endorsed providers Marsh McLennan Agency and National Insurance Services, with participating insurers SFM Mutual, EMC, Liberty Mutual, RAS Companies, and Glatfelter Public Entities. Administrative services are provided by Berkley Risk Administrators Company.

The revenue model combines recurring annual membership dues from public school boards and charter schools with managed-services income from MSBAIT insurance programs. Go-to-market is sales-led and direct, relying on advocacy, professional development workshops, conferences, regional events, and personal consultations with board members and superintendents. Member engagement is sustained through an integrated content and event mix including leadership conferences, delegate assemblies, Day at the Capitol advocacy events, and virtual programming. Pricing for membership is not publicly disclosed and operates on a quote-based, annual billing cadence. Geographic operations are restricted to Minnesota, with no current international footprint, though federal advocacy is pursued through the COSSBA national consortium.

Name

Minnesota School Boards Association

Legal name

Minnesota School Boards Association

Website

https://mnmsba.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1920

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Minnesota School Boards Association is a private, nonprofit membership association founded in 1920 that serves all Minnesota public school boards and charter schools, providing board development workshops, policy services, executive search, advocacy, and insurance trust programs through its MSBAIT subsidiary.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Governance Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Policy, Governance & Board Administration (EDAJAHAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Elected School Boards & Governance Councils (EDADABAE)

Keywords

• Public education governance
• School board professional development
• Education policy services
• School district risk management
• Legislative advocacy services

Headquarters

HQ city

St. Peter, Minnesota

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: MSBA generates revenue through membership dues from Minnesota public school boards and charter schools. Membership provides access to workshops, resources, policy services, advocacy representation, and risk management programs.
2. MSBAIT Insurance Programs: The Minnesota School Boards Association Insurance Trust (MSBAIT) develops and supports risk management-focused solutions including property-casualty, workers' compensation, group life, and long-term disability programs for eligible members through endorsed providers and participating insurers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Minnesota School Boards Association is a private nonprofit membership association that supports Minnesota's public school boards and charter schools through professional development workshops (a four-phase Learning to Lead series), policy services and audits, executive search assistance, strategic planning facilitation, legislative advocacy, and risk management insurance programs offered through its MSBAIT subsidiary. MSBA also operates the OnBoard U digital learning platform, a Resource Library, MSBA Leader Newsletter, webinars, and phone/email consultations to help boards govern efficiently and improve student outcomes.

Product overview

The Minnesota School Boards Association operates as a unified membership organization providing a comprehensive portfolio of services to support, promote, and enhance public school board governance and education outcomes. The core offerings include OnBoard U (a digital learning platform for board leadership development), Policy Services (model policies and audits), Board Development Workshops (the four-phase Learning to Lead series), Executive Search Services, Strategic Planning, Webinars, the MSBA Leader Newsletter, Resource Library, and Advocacy Services. The subsidiary MSBA Insurance Trust (MSBAIT) offers risk management programs including Risk Protection, Group Life/Long-Term Disability, and Advanced Protection Programs. Additional endorsed products include BoardBook meeting management software and MNTAAB financing programs. Services are delivered through workshops, online courses, consultations, and member resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• OnBoard U Learning Hub A digital learning management platform providing online courses and workshop series for Minnesota school board leadership development, featuring self-paced modules and virtual workshops.
• Policy Services and Policy Audit Provides model policies and detailed policy audits for member school districts, including policy management simplification tools.
• Board Development Workshops (Learning to Lead Series)
• Executive Search Service
• Strategic Planning Service
• Webinars (Third Thursday Series)
• MSBA Insurance Trust (MSBAIT)
• Job Postings Service
• Phone and Email Consultations
• Advocacy Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 150 years of combined staff experience serving member boards
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Marsh McLennan AgencycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEndorsed provider for MSBAIT Sponsored Programs providing property-casualty and workers' compensation risk management solutions. Provides promotion, negotiation, and distribution of the Risk Protection Program and Advanced Protection Program. Located at 6160 Golden Hills Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55416.
• National Insurance ServicescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEndorsed provider for MSBAIT Sponsored Programs providing group life and long-term disability (voluntary benefits) risk management solutions. Located at 14852 Scenic Heights Road, Suite 210, Eden Prairie, MN 55344.
• SFM Mutual InsurancecoreOthersParticipating insurer rated A- or better by A.M. Best Company providing property-casualty risk management solutions for MSBA member school districts.
• EMC InsurancecoreOthersParticipating insurer rated A- or better by A.M. Best Company providing property-casualty risk management solutions for MSBA member school districts.
• Liberty Mutual InsurancecoreOthersParticipating insurer rated A- or better by A.M. Best Company providing property-casualty risk management solutions for MSBA member school districts.
• RAS CompaniescoreOthersParticipating insurer rated A- or better by A.M. Best Company providing property-casualty risk management solutions for MSBA member school districts.
• Glatfelter Public EntitiescoreOthersParticipating insurer rated A- or better by A.M. Best Company providing property-casualty risk management solutions for MSBA member school districts.
• Berkley Risk Administrators CompanyminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAdministrative services provider for MSBAIT's Group Self-Insurance Program (Property-Casualty and Workers' Compensation). Located at 222 South 9th Street, Suite 2700, Minneapolis, MN 55402-3332.
• COSSBA (Consortium of State School Boards Associations)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational consortium enabling collaboration among state school boards associations. MSBA participates in the 2026 COSSBA Federal Advocacy Conference scheduled for September 21-23 in Washington, D.C.
• Minnesota Council of School Attorneys (MNCOSA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional council providing legal guidance and support to MSBA member school districts on school law matters.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB): Illinois state school boards association providing board development workshops, policy services, lobbying and member publications — highly comparable service mix to MSBA in a similar Midwest political context.
• Texas Association of School Boards (TASB): Texas state-level association offering school board training, policy services, HR/HR咨询服务 and risk-management/pooled insurance programs — the closest large-state parallel to MSBA's combined governance + MSBAIT insurance model.
• New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA): New York statewide school boards membership group providing training, policy services, advocacy and an Annual Convention — directly comparable in scope and member-supported funding model.
• California School Boards Association (CSBA): California's statewide membership association for K-12 school boards, delivering policy services, board training, executive search and advocacy that closely mirror MSBA's portfolio in a much larger state context.
• Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA): Ohio state association for K-12 boards offering training, policy, legal, advocacy and a Capital Conference annual event — structurally analogous to MSBA's workshop + policy + conference model.
• National School Boards Association (NSBA): National umbrella association for U.S. public school boards, providing governance training, advocacy, policy services and federal representation — the direct federal-level analogue to MSBA's state-level role, with which MSBA collaborates via COSSBA.

Broad incumbents

• Consortium of State School Boards Associations (COSSBA): National consortium of state-level school boards associations (including MSBA itself) that co-ordinates federal advocacy and shared resources — directly comparable as a peer organization MSBA participates in.

Emerging players

• AASA (The School Superintendents Association): National professional association for school superintendents — a partial peer / adjacent counterpart to MSBA on the superintendent side of the school governance ecosystem MSBA also serves via executive search.

Others

• Frontline Education: K-12 administration software vendor included in MSBA's endorsed-product catalog; comparable as a technology ecosystem participant serving the same Minnesota school-board buyers MSBA aggregates.

Regional players

• Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB): Neighboring Midwest state association delivering very similar board training, policy, advocacy and member-services to MSBA, serving Wisconsin (rather than Minnesota) public school boards.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/Minnesota-School-Boards-Association/100000719994090
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/minnesota-school-boards-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Minnesota School Boards Association