Post-election campaign reports for SPS board show $209K+ raised, how money was spent
Campaign finance reports filed after the April 4 election showed the four candidates vying for the pair of Springfield school board seats raised a combined total of at least $209,176.
The amount is just $7,525 higher than what was reported the final Monday in March, the last filing deadline prior to the election.
The reports provide insight into how candidates spent what they raised, how much they had left over after election, and hint at what might be next.
Receiving the most votes, educators Judy Brunner and Shurita Thomas-Tate were sworn in April 11. Brunner started her first three-year term and Thomas-Tate began her second.
The post-election reports showed the amount raised during the months-long campaign: Brunner, who filed an April quarterly report, with $87,048 and Thomas-Tate, who filed a quarterly report as well as the 30-day after report, with $59,813.
Landon McCarter, a business owner and entrepreneur who was just 274 votes behind Thomas-Tate, raised $47,104 and pharmacist Chad Rollins, who came in last, raised $15,161.
According to the Missouri Ethics Commission website, Rollins is the only school board candidate who has filed the paperwork to terminate a campaign committee.
It is not unusual for elected officials or candidates who lost to leave a campaign committee active if they may run again.
At least two current board members, Thomas-Tate and Kelly Byrne, lost a bid to serve on the board before they ran again and won.
Rollins had $4,614 left after the election and planned to transfer remaining funds to a new committee. However, he did not list the name of the new committee or its purpose.
The April report from Rollins showed three donations in the final days of the campaign:
$500 − Eric Burlison
$480 − Jeff Layman
$234 − Jack Bay
Burlison, who represents Missouri in the U.S. House, is from Springfield and endorsed Rollins and McCarter in the school board race through a video posted on social media.
Campaign expenses listed for Rollins were related to mailings. However, he also paid campaign workers to knock on doors in the days before the election.
Rollins, a Republican, was the only candidate who listed his party affiliation on campaign forms for the school board, an elected office that is required by state law to be nonpartisan.
In the April report for McCarter, he reported raising $47,104 and had $4,218 left after the campaign.
His biggest expenses were direct mailers plus advertising on TV, radio and Facebook.
In post-election reports, Thomas-Tate reported spending $39,378 during the race and had $8,340 left after the election.
Toward the end of the campaign, Thomas-Tate spent most of her funds on advertising, political consulting and supplies.
The report listed a $2,000 in-kind donation from Lyle Foster and 13 last-minute financial contributions, including:
$519 − Raymond Crespo and TaJuan Wilson, of Georgia
$312 − Frances Pitts
$300 − Matthew Riley
$260 − Rachel Dockery
$248 − Jeff Frye
$204 − Shirley Huffman
$104 − Matthew Calihman, Elenor Mills, Norma Capeci, Jane Huffstetler, Larry Maddox
$102 − Angela Crawford
More: SPS Teacher of the Year strives to give children a purpose and 'place of belonging'
Brunner, who raised the most, spent at least $76,663 and had $3,025 left at the time of filing the quarterly report.
She reported nine last-minute donations, some of which were small:
$1,000 − Sam Hamra
$519 − Lori Welch of Georgia
$250 − Marcia Rosenkoetter
$100 − Cecily Cornelius-White
$50 or less − Stephani Smock, Alan Tinkler, Laura McWhirt, Carmen Pyles and Laura Umphenour of Nixa
End-of-election campaign expenses for Brunner included campaign signs, Facebook advertising and campaign texting.
Brunner and McCarter only filed April quarterly reports. They will still be expected to file the 30-day-after report in early May.
Claudette Riley covers education for the News-Leader. Email tips and story ideas to criley@news-leader.com.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Post-election campaign reports for SPS board show how funds were spent
