Winning school board candidates outraised opponents by tens of thousands

Three of the candidates who won Washoe County School Board seats in the June primary outraised their opponents by tens of thousands of dollars, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Nevada Secretary of State.

In the fourth race, now heading for the November general election, the challenger has a $64,000 fundraising advantage over the incumbent and more than $33,000 left to spend.

According to the public filings that were due on July 15, candidates in the four races raised nearly $300,000 in the three months leading up to the June 11 primary.

School Board President Beth Smith raised more than $138,000 in total for this race, according to campaign reports filed in 2023 and 2024.

Newcomer to politics and former teacher Christine Hull raised more than $45,000 in the second reporting period, according to an amended report filed Monday. In total, she reported donations of $61,329 for her campaign against Trustee Jeff Church. Church raised less than $300.

Hull won in the primary with 55 percent of the vote in the three-way race. She will be sworn in in January to represent District A, an area that includes South Reno and Incline Village.

It was a similar story for School Board President Beth Smith and Trustee Alex Woodley. In this reporting period Woodley raised $70,500. Smith raised $71,172 total in 2024 and $67,201 in 2023.

In the race to represent District G, Perry Rosenstein outraised incumbent Diane Nicolet and came in first in a field of seven candidates. He received 35% to Nicolet’s 18%. Their contest will be decided in the November general election.

In the last three months, Rosenstein reported $74,000 in donations compared to Nicolet's $10,000.

Campaign fundraising now easily exceeds the $9,000 a trustee makes a year. In 2022, Trustee Adam Mayberry raised more than $107,000 to retain his seat in District F, an at-large district that represents the eastern part of Washoe County.

How much did Washoe County School Board winners raise in donations?

Christine Hull, District A

Hull raised $45,511 in the second reporting period for candidates. In total she raised $61,329.

Of those donations, $8,520 were in amounts of $100 or less.

Her report says she has $5,873 left unspent in campaign contributions.

Notable donations came from the Washoe Education Association ($5,000) and the Atlantis Casino Resort ($5,000).  Other contributions came from Planned Parenthood ($2,000) school board candidate Perry Rosenstein ($725) and Trustee Adam Mayberry ($500).

Church raised $243 for his reelection campaign. His donations were all less than $100 so the donors are not named.

Beth Smith, District D

Smith raised $46,000 in the three month filing period between April 1 and June 30 for a total of $71,000 for the year. Of that, $9,300 came from contributions of less than $100.

It puts her total in contributions for this race at $138,373.

Smith easily won in the primary, receiving 62 percent of the vote in the five-person race.

Donations for Smith came a range of sources including the Nevada State Education Association ($5,000), Plenium Builders ($2,500), Grand Sierra Resort ($2,500) Q&D COnstruction ($1,000), McDonald Carano Law firm ($1,000) and fellow trustees Colleen Westlake ($200) and Adam Mayberry ($500).

Her most recent campaign report shows she has $26,000 remaining in her account.

Victoria Myer, who came in second with 14% of the vote, reported a deficit of $276 in her campaign filing report. She also reported she did not raise any money.

Alex Woodley, District E

Woodley raised more than $70,000 since April 1, bringing his total campaign donations to just over $73,000.

Donations under $100 totaled $3,300. He has $23,000 left in his campaign fund.

Woodly received a range of donations including from fellow Trustee Adam Mayberry ($500). Othe notable donations include from the Washoe Education Association ($8,000), Reno attorney Joey Gilbert ($300) and a Senor Tequila, a Reno restaurant ($5,000).

Woodley won in the primary with 52% of the vote.

Opponent Bev Stenehjem received 33% of the vote in the four-person race. Stenehjem reported raising nearly $19,000 for her campaign since the start of the year.  Of that, $18,500 was raised in the last three months.

Diane Nicolet vs Perry Rosenstein, District G

Rosenstein, who is vying to unseat Nicolet, raised more than $73,000 in the last three months. Two $10,000 donations came from Bay area residents, including a family member.

Of the $78,596 he has raised in total for the board seat, just over $5,700 was from donations of less than $100.

Nicolet has raised $14,000 for her reelection, including $9,800 in the last three months.

Of her donations, $650 are from people who donated less than $100. She also gave her own campaign $7,700 in the last three months.

This article originally appeared on Reno Gazette Journal: Winning school board candidates outraised opponents by tens of thousands