Village schools are struggling to attract governors because of the rising number of second home owners across Norfolk, education bosses have said.
They say that in many rural areas there is a shortage of candidates for the role because of the large proportion of people who do not live there permanently or do not have a strong connection with their local community.
They say the shortage has created a "serious situation", with up to 60pc of posts vacant in some parts of the county.
Norfolk has one of the highest rates of second home ownership of anywhere in the UK. In some villages, as many as 70pc of properties are not main residences.
The north of the county has the second highest rate outside of London, with one in 10 properties currently second homes - 5,500 out of 55,000.
And education leaders believe this trend is swallowing the pool from which governors can be recruited, as second home owners would naturally have less interest in the local community.
The warning comes from one of the region's biggest school trusts, St Benet's Multi Academy Trust.
Richard Cramner, chief executive, said: "In more densely populated parts of England, recruiting governors is less problematic. But in Norfolk we have struggled to attract and retain them recently.
"Many of our schools are located in small villages where there are limited numbers in the surrounding community to draw upon and some of which may have a number of residents who are second home owners so are less interested in being involved with the local community."
St Benet's runs 11 schools in the region, mostly in the south Norfolk and Waveney areas.
However, it is part of the larger Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust, which runs 38 academies, including in second home hotspots like Brancaster and Docking.
Oliver Burwood, chief executive of DNEAT joined in urging people to volunteer their time to help their local school.
He said: "This is a serious situation as we need governors to work together to provide oversight of the management and operation of a school, with the aim of improving the quality of education provided and raising standards.
"School governors do not run the school on a day-to-day basis; this is the job of the headteacher and senior staff, but the role of a governor is vital in supporting their work."
Currently, in West Norfolk 60pc of governor positions are vacant, along with 50pc of DNEAT's posts as a whole.
What do school governors do?
School governors are responsible for overseeing the management of schools and are drawn from different categories.
Every school in the county will have its own board of governors, which will include representatives from the school staff, parents and other members of the local community.
Anybody over the age of 18 can apply to become a governor - with public roles not exclusive to people who have children at the school.
Often prominent members of communities such as the local vicar or former teachers fill these roles - but they are open to anybody.
Jo Tinson has been chairman of governors at Thomas Bullock Church of England Primary Academy in Shipdham since 2020.
She said: "In its simplest form, the role of a governor is to offer both support and challenge to the school, its head and its leaders.
"It was not an onerous process to become a governor. Everyone has been welcoming and supportive.
"The aspect I find particularly fulfilling is that the role enables you to visit the school for the purposes of monitoring.
"I would thoroughly recommend giving your time to support your local school to be the best it can be."
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