Who is funding Sacramento school board campaigns? These candidates received the most money
The 32 candidates running for school board seats in Sacramento County have raised half a million dollars in campaign funds this election season, with the majority of those funds coming from local PACs.
This type of spending is more common as school boards continue to become increasingly politicized. Once understood to be a nonpartisan position in governance, school boardrooms are now key battlegrounds where conservative advocacy groups seek to advance their preferred policies surrounding sex education, parental notification policies and classroom discussions of gender and race.
Locally, school teachers unions are also an influential force on board elections and are commonly top campaign spenders. The Sacramento City Teachers Association’s PAC spent $355,000 in 2020 in an effort to elect Lavinia Grace Phillips and Jose Navarro, the former being successfully seated and the latter trying his chances at election again this year, again with the support of SCTA.
In the 2024 election, similar forces are at play, but the amount spent between candidates varies greatly.
Candidates with the most cash are backed by unions
The most invested-in school board race in the county is, by a thin margin, Sacramento City Unified School District, with a total of $115,263 raised between five candidates. The candidate with the most resources is by far Navarro, who the SCTA has backed by spending $76,500 on mailers and canvasser salaries.
His opponent, Rolanda Wilkins, has raised $8,848. The majority of this money has come from individual donors giving $100 to $500, with the only committee support coming from the Charter Public Schools PAC, which gave $1,000.
SCTA has also invested in the Trustee Area 4 election, though not as liberally as in Area 3. Still, the SCTA-endorsed April Ybarra’s cash fund tops the three person race with $10,800 in contributions, including $5,200 from the Service Employees International Union 1021 and $3,539 funding mailers and canvasser salaries from SCTA.
Opponent Victoria Vasquez has raised $7,350, largely from the Plumbers & Pipefitters Local Union, and candidate Jay Hernandez has only received $125 in contributions, according to campaign finance disclosures.
Nikki Milevsky, SCTA president, said that the difference in campaign spending is because Area 3 is 20% larger than Area 4, but that the union is campaigning “equally hard” for both candidates.
“After seeing SCUSD mismanaged by school board members who seemed to be more interested in either forwarding their own political careers or their businesses, SCTA’s three thousand members democratically decided to play a much more active role in SCUSD school board elections,” Milevsky said.
Candidates in Elk Grove also see big contributions
SCTA isn’t the only union putting cash behind school board candidates in Sacramento.
Of the three races in Elk Grove Unified School District, which represent the second most-expensive set of school board races at $114,600, two of the top-earning candidates have received backing from the district’s teachers union. Elk Grove Education Association has spent $42,900 between candidates Susan Davis, Jennifer Ballerini and Rehana Rehman.
Candidate Jacqueline Ortiz, running on a parents rights platform, has narrowly outearned opponent Ballerini, receiving $18,000 and $17,000 respectively.
Rehman is the second most-funded school board candidate in Sacramento County at $38,740 in contributions, around $7,000 ahead of opponent Heidi Moore, who is also running on a parents’ rights platform. Moore has received significant support from the Local Citizens for Accountable Government PAC, a Rancho Cordova-based committee that has supported the Sacramento County Republican Party.
Small and large donations in Natomas
The races in Natomas Unified School District make up the third most campaign money raised within one district at $107,400. Trustee Area 3 candidate Jonathan Cook, also supported by the district’s teachers union and other local labor unions, leads in fundraising to incumbent Micah Grant, whose campaign funds are largely made up of individual donations from police officers and attorneys, plus a $1,000 from WECA Good Government PAC, a group representing electric contractors which aims to fight the influence of labor unions in California.
While most campaign donations come from individuals ranging between $100 to $500, there is no limit to how much a school board candidate can receive in campaign contributions, unlike most state, county and city elections, which are capped at $5,500 from a single source.
Trustee Area 5 candidate Sumiti Mehta received one of the largest single-sourced donations at $10,000 from California Senator Angelique Ashby. She has also received $12,600 from the Charter Public Schools PAC. Opponent Monique Langer has received support in smaller increments from local unions, including the Natomas Teachers’ Association.
Self-funding and no funding in other districts
The Local Citizens for Accountable Government PAC has also supported San Juan Unified School District Trustee Area 4 candidate Nick Bloise and Folsom Cordova Unified School District candidates Madelaine Jean Sanderson and Dianna Laney. Laney has raised over 10 times what her opponent YK Chalamcherla, current Folsom City Council member, has reported receiving — $33,000 to his $3,000.
Bloise is the county’s third most-funded candidate at $35,000, however over half of these funds come from Bloise himself in the form of contributions or loans. Incumbent Pam Costa trails him at $22,000 with support from the teachers union, followed by Martin Ross with $13,700.
Some candidates have reported little to no cash raised for their campaigns. Elk Grove Unified Incumbents Carmine Forcina and Tony Perez have not reported any campaign contributions in 2024, and not one candidate in the lower profile Galt Joint Union High and Center Joint Union school district races has reported any fundraising.
Other candidates that have reported no campaign contributions include Mohammad Sharif for San Juan Unified, Elk Grove Unified incumbent Tony Perez and Sally Trevino Gobea for Natomas Unified.
This story was originally published October 25, 2024 at 3:28 PM.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that Natomas Unified School District Trustee Area 5 candidate Sumiti Mehta is not an incumbent. Mehta is a board member for NP3 school.
