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FARGO — In North Dakota, state law requires candidates for county offices, as well as city offices in communities of 5,000 or more, to file campaign finance reports, but the story is different when it comes to school board races.
Candidates running for school board don’t have to file any campaign finance reports, at all.
Nonetheless, most of the 15 hopefuls vying for five seats on the Fargo School Board in the Tuesday, June 14, election were willing to share such information when contacted by The Forum, with some having already released donation information on their campaign websites.
Secretary of State Al Jaeger said he isn’t clear on the history of why North Dakota law does not require school board candidates to file campaign donation and expenditure reports.
It may have to do with the fact the positions are nonpartisan, though Jaeger acknowledged political parties sometimes identify and support candidates they think are in one party or another.
Jaeger said he’s not aware of any laws that would prevent a school district from setting up campaign finance reporting requirements.
Jack McDonald, an attorney for the North Dakota Newspaper Association who specializes in transparency laws, agreed with Jaeger that one reason school board candidates probably aren’t required to file campaign finance reports is that the job has traditionally been seen as nonpartisan.
“Of course, that has changed a lot now, with school boards,” McDonald said, referring to the growing politicization of such boards across the country.
McDonald said he believes campaign disclosure laws would be good for school boards. Any new rules, he said, would have to be done carefully to avoid discouraging people from running.
“My impression so far is, most of these races are self-funded, but it would be good to know when they are not,” McDonald said.
While school board candidates in North Dakota don’t have to file campaign finance reports, the situation is different in Minnesota.
School board candidates in Minnesota must file campaign finance reports, and
in Moorhead, the school district publishes those reports on its website
after they are filed.
In races in North Dakota where campaign finance reports are required, donations of $200 or less do not require identification of the donors, while donations above that threshold do require the donor to be identified.
In this election cycle, the Fargo School Board race has seen campaign spending on the usual yard signs, but also on flyers mailed to residents, billboards and online advertising.
Most of the 15 candidates running in Tuesday’s election provided some campaign donation information when asked for it, with many saying they felt transparency in election funding was important in races for public office.
A number said they would support the Fargo School Board setting up its own campaign finance reporting requirements.
Candidates for school board and a summary of the information each provided can be found below:
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Melissa Burkland said she believes in transparency in campaign finance
to be public.
She said some donations were made through checks, so they are not captured in totals on her fundraising page, but added that she has raised about $7,800.
With a few exceptions, she said, all of her donations came from someone in the community, Fargo Public Schools alumni, or from a family member.
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Greg Clark said he thinks school board candidates should follow the same campaign finance disclosure rules as other candidates in the state.
Clark said if school board candidates had to follow such rules, his disclosure would look like this: contributions totaling greater than $200 included a $500 donation from his parents and a $400 donation from himself.
“The remaining $1,215 I’ve raised so far has come from many smaller donations from family and friends,” Clark said, adding that the median contribution was about $25.
Katie Christensen said she’s in favor of increasing campaign transparency and shared that she has raised about $4,000.
She said of the donations she received, two have been over $200.
“Most of the donations have come from local supporters other than a few from friends and family out of state,” Christensen said.
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“If we had policies that required us to share the names of our donors, I would have made that clear before anyone donated. Since that’s not the case this year, I’m opting to keep my donors’ names private,” Christensen added.
Nyamal Dei declined to provide campaign finance information for this story.
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Zac Echola said one of his campaign planks is to increase campaign transparency through a governance policy of the school board itself.
“It wouldn’t be that hard to implement. It only requires political will of people in office to do it. I would obviously support a statewide campaign finance reform bill, as well,” Echola said.
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He said he wasn’t going to release his campaign finances because there are disadvantages to being the only person to do so when nobody else is obliged, but he offered that he received only three donations over the $200 threshold.
One he said, was from his dad.
The median donation is $25, he said, adding that the average is about $57,
according to information Echola posted on Facebook.
Echola said more than 60% of donations he’s received are under $200.
“My donors are working class people who live in our community and want to see it thrive on our own terms,” he said.
Incumbent Robin Nelson said she has been keeping her campaign “somewhat low-profile this cycle by limiting it to yard signs and social media.”
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“I did not solicit monetary donations, and used yard signs from my previous campaign. I did, however, receive a handful of unsolicited donations amounting to about $300 which offset purchases to fulfill additional constituent requests for yard signs,” Nelson said.
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When asked if she would provide campaign finance information, Katie Kelsh was brief and to the point.
“Self funded. Only yard signs purchased out of my pocket,” Kelsh said.
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Incumbent Rebecca Knutson said, “To be fair to all candidates and contributors, there needs to be a universal legal method for reporting contributions to school board campaigns in North Dakota.”
Knutson declined to provide specifics about her own campaign finances, but thanked those who have donated.
“I would like to thank those who have contributed to my campaign and are supportive of my reelection to the Fargo Board of Education,” Knutson said.
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Incumbent Brian Nelson said he has not received any money from anyone.
“I have paid everything from my pocket. It is a school board election. I have 34 years education experience. People can see the work I did the last four years,” Nelson said.
“I know how schools work,” he added. “I know who does the work. Therefore, it would be a waste of money from people to give me money to get elected.”
Allie Ollenburger said she’s using Venmo and GoFundMe to collect donations.
Her GoFundMe page lists each donation she’s received through the site. She had raised $910 as of Saturday, according to the site.
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Ollenburger said she has been spending on things like yard signs, digital advertising on Facebook, digital billboards and mailings.
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Incumbent David Paulson said he has not received any donations and would not accept any if offered.
“I purchased yard signs at my own expense and did not run any radio or print ads specifically for my campaign,” Paulson said.
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Alexis Scott said she’s accepting donations through GoFundMe and Venmo.
“In total, I have received just over $1,000 in donations from community members and stakeholders in the FM community, proudly so!” said Scott, who added that she has spent on things like yard signs, billboards and flyers.
Kristin Sharbono said she addressed the issue of campaign finance reporting on a live Facebook post made on May 25.
“All of my donations, with exception of my parents, are from people that live within a ten-mile radius of my home. It has been an amazing experience to be connecting with others in our community and know that they support my campaign and my platform to improve Fargo Public Schools,” Sharbono said.
Alyssa Goelzer/The Forum
She said her donations are viewable on her GoFundMe account, which recently totaled $965. She noted that her expenses have exceeded her donations.
Deven Styczynski said he would like to see campaign finance laws for school board races, adding that he has received $25 from a neighbor and his wife purchased $75 worth of business cards for the campaign.
He said the bulk of his spending has been out of his own pocket and total spending has amounted to about $1,000.
Alyssa Goelzer/The Forum
“What I’m most curious about is what people are going to do with their unused donation money, issue refunds or just pocket it. I’m sure your readers would be more interested in that than a poor person doing the best he can with what he has,” Styczynski said.
Lyn Telford said she wasn’t releasing specifics about campaign contributions because she said there are disadvantages to being the only person to do so when other candidates aren’t obligated to do the same.
“I have absolutely nothing to hide, as 100% of my campaign is funded through my personal contributions and donations from family, friends, and engaged constituents. If all candidates decide to share their breakdown, I will reconsider,” Telford said.
Nonetheless, she shared that she had one donation over $200, which is the threshold amount in other types of races that requires identifying the donor. That donation was from a family member, Telford said.
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She said the median donation is $50 and the average donation is about $86.
“I am not funded by any special interests. I have a separate campaign account to ensure separation of personal and campaign funds,” Telford said, adding that she would support a board policy on the subject as well as a statewide campaign finance reform bill.
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