Although school board races are supposed to be nonpartisan, there’s plenty of political money pouring into local campaigns ahead of the April 7 election.
Political action committees, often referred to as PACs, are groups that advocate for or against a referendum or issue or in support of a candidate. They are also defined as using more than 50% of their total spending in 12 months for those purposes. They must share who their donors are and are limited as to how much they can contribute to candidates.
University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor emeritus Howard Schweber said that in the last few years, the MAGA movement, a form of conservatism associated with President Donald Trump, has risen. The movement has looked “to drive wokeness out of society and education, especially to keep it away from children.” Another part of the movement is to increase the presence and emphasis of Christian religious teachings, issues he said play out in schools.
“Starting a few years ago, there was a very concentrated effort by MAGA groups, the most famous of which is Moms For Liberty, to take over school boards. It was highly successful. They won lots of elections. They were highly organized and well funded, and on school boards across the country, they started to impose the agenda they believed in,” he said.
But many parents and voters rejected the MAGA groups’ vision and pushed back, Schweber said.
“So the point is that control – control of school boards – is hotly contested. It’s part and parcel of national politics in the Trump era, and therefore, of course, it attracts lots of money and outside interest because it’s hotly contested, and the stakes are perceived to be very high,” said Schweber.
He said the same thing takes place in judicial, municipal and other kinds of elections. It reflects the extent to which local elections have become nationalized, he said.
Here are some of the political action committees involved in this spring’s school board elections. Current financial reports include the the January 2026 report, covering July 1, 2025-Dec. 31, 2025; spring pre-primary report, covering Jan. 1-Feb. 2; and the spring pre-election report, covering Feb. 2-March 23.
1776 Project PAC
This group has gotten most of its funds from Restoration PAC, largely funded by Republican Party mega-donor Richard Uihlein. He and his wife, Elizabeth, co-own the Pleasant Prairie-based Uline. The 1776 Project PAC has committed itself to electing conservative school board members nationwide, according to its website.
Reports the 1776 Project filed March 13, March 19 and April 3 indicate the group spent almost $321,280 on school board races statewide, which includes just over $148,452 for “media – book/brochure advertising,” just over $162,108 for “consulting fees” and just over $10,715 for “media-phones/texting.”
This year, the group endorsed 17 candidates for school boards in Wisconsin in 11 school districts. An 18th, Germantown School Board member Eric Brown, is not running for re-election this year, but was supported by the group in the past; a mailer that accidentally went out in support of him for this year’s election was “an internal mistake,” 1776 Project PAC founder Ryan Girdusky previously told the Journal Sentinel.
The Journal Sentinel reached out to the 17 candidates to ask them about the endorsement. As of April 3, only two responded.
Menomonee Falls School Board candidate Nicole Barker said in an email that she had not been aware of any endorsements from the PAC until postcards arrived in the mail. She had not heard of the group before that, she said, adding that the group never reached out to her, and she did not seek its endorsement.
But she said she was happy for the endorsement, as it appears the group is in line with her positions.
Kari Flagg, a candidate for the Winneconne School Board in Winnebago County in northeastern Wisconsin, said she learned of her endorsement as campaign flyers went to homes in her area.
Unlike Barker, however, she is not happy with the endorsement. “As much as I appreciate the support, there are several statements that do not reflect my specific campaign,” she said.
Flagg said her focal points are advocating for public and family input on decisions, including district policies and curriculum; assisting in the budget process and fight for responsible spending; promoting board transparency and supporting families and teachers as an educational team.
Forward Wisconsin
Forward Wisconsin, a political action committee established in September 2025 has accumulated over $9,800 in donations since the fall.
The PAC’s sole financial contributor is Rebecca PAC, former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch’s political action committee launched in July 2020 to support conservative candidates’ election into State Assembly and State Senate.
In the weeks leading up to the spring election, Forward Wisconsin has drawn backlash from some Waukesha residents for disseminating ads in opposition to Waukesha School Board candidate Diane Voit stating that she “fought to keep woke gender politics,” “opposed policies to prevent teachers from politicizing in Waukesha schools” and “supported failed COVID-19 policies.”
Controversy behind the ads grew when Waukesha locals flagged that current Waukesha School Board Member Eric Brooks was listed as Forward Wisconsin’s custodian on the State of Wisconsin Ethics Commission’s PAC tracking system.
According to Kyle Schroeder, executive director of Forward Wisconsin PAC, Brooks was removed as a custodian of the group in December 2025.
The organization stated that the Wisconsin Ethics Commission website erroneously continued to list Brooks as a custodian until March; once the commission became aware of the error, it immediately sought to change it.
“They informed us that this has been an ongoing issue of the front end of their website not updating,” Schroeder said.
In an email to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Daniel Carlton, an administrator for the Wisconsin Ethics Commission, disagreed with allegations that the Ethics Commission’s Sunshine website had glitches and delayed updates, causing the names of former custodians to appear.
Carlton said any instances of inaccurate committee custodians are the result of not updating contact information on the website or notifying commission staff when individuals leave their position or organization.
“Any committee that notices any outdated information can easily amend their registration statement in Sunshine,” Carlton said.
Under state law, committees are required to report any change in information within 10 days of the change.
Brooks said in an email to a reporter he had initially served as a custodian of the PAC upon its creation but asked to be removed as a custodian in December 2025 and was informed at that time he had been removed.
State Republican, Democratic parties, county parties
The state Republican Party’s 2026 spring pre-election report filed in March shows that it donated $300 each to the candidate committees of Cumberland School Board candidate Nancy Keeler and Waukesha School Board candidate Chase Allen. It did not have a spring pre-primary report, and its January reports did not show any spending for school board candidates.
The state Democratic Party’s 2026 spring pre-election report filed in March showed that it made over $10,000 worth of in-kind donations for campaign software, media and graphic design and consulting fees for school board candidates statewide. The party’s 2026 spring pre-primary report shows the party made in-kind donations worth over $5,000 to school board candidates in 10 school districts statewide – Beloit, Waukesha, Wauwatosa, Tomah, Cedarburg, West Allis-West Milwaukee, La Crosse, Muskego-Norway, Stevens Point and Kimberly – for campaign software.
The Ozaukee County Democratic Party’s 2026 spring pre-primary report shows the party donated $2,000 to Cedarburg School Board candidate Connie Kincaide’s campaign committee. The party also donated $500 to Kincaide’s campaign for Ozaukee County Board. Its pre-election report showed it made a $289 in-kind donation for “media – newspaper” to Kincaide’s school board campaign and a similar in-kind donation for “media-newspaper” worth $289 to Kincaide’s county board campaign.
As of April 3, no spring pre-election report or spring pre-primary report appears in state campaign finance records for the Ozaukee County Republican Party. Its only other available report was filed in January and did not show any spending on school board candidates.
Neither the Waukesha County Republican nor Waukesha County Democratic Parties had a spring pre-election or a spring pre-primary report available in state campaign finance records as of April 3. They filed reports for January, but none showed any spending for school board candidates.
The Washington County Democratic Party had spring pre-election, spring pre-primary and January reports available in state campaign finance records, but none showed any spending for school board candidates.
The Washington County Republican Party did not have a spring pre-election nor a pre-primary report available as of April 3, but did have a January report, which did not show any spending for school board candidates.
The Milwaukee County Democratic and Republican Parties did not have any spring pre-election reports or pre-primary reports. Both had January reports, but neither showed any spending for school board candidates.
WEAC
The Wisconsin Education Association Council, the state teachers’ union, has listed 26 candidates on its website that it recommends for school boards across the state.
The state WEAC PAC did not report any donations to school board candidates this year on any of its available reports.
The union’s Region 7 PAC, which covers most of southeastern Wisconsin, donated $700 to the group “Yes for Watertown Students.” Voters in the Watertown School District are facing a $22.5 million operational referendum ($4.5 million annually for five years) on the April ballot.
The PAC also donated $400 each to Kathleen Wied-Vincent, who’s running for Greendale School Board; Kincaide, who’s running for Cedarburg School Board; and Morales, who’s running for Muskego-Norway School Board, according to its March pre-election report.
A separate campaign finance report also filed in March shows the union’s Region 7 PAC reported paying just over $6,672 to MJ Media LLC in South Milwaukee for “printing-brochures” and “postage” for school board candidates in the following districts: Cudahy, Elmbrook, Germantown, Menomonee Falls, Oak Creek-Franklin, Waukesha, West Allis-West Milwaukee and South Milwaukee.
Moms for Liberty Action
The conservative organization’s campaign finance reports showed just over $3,450 in payments to Florida-based Gator Consulting LLC for “media-phones-texting” for school board candidates around the state in the Appleton, Arrowhead, East Troy, Elmbrook, Hamilton, Kettle Moraine, Menomonee Falls, Muskego-Norway, New Berlin, Oshkosh, Waukesha, and Winneconne school districts.
WisRed
The Waukesha County Republican Party created the WisRed PAC in 2021.
WisRed’s 2026 voter guide lists 39 school board candidates it supports. It also supports candidates for the Waukesha County Board, other county municipalities and courts.
Its status on the state’s campaign finance records website shows it has requested termination and that there has not been any spending since December 2023. Patricia Maynard, who is listed as the group’s treasurer, did not immediately respond to a reporter’s phone calls or email messages seeking information on the PAC’s status.
Blue Sky Waukesha
This Waukesha County-based group has “recommended” candidates primarily opposing WisRed-supported candidates.
However, both WisRed and Blue Sky Waukesha support Hamilton School Board candidate Tom Seiler and Kettle Moraine School Board candidate Jay Crouse.
A check of the group’s state campaign finance records shows spending related to local elections, but nothing related to school board races.
Fair Wisconsin PAC
The group, whose website says it supports LGBTQ+ rights and candidates who support those rights, has endorsed 11 school board candidates statewide across seven school districts. Five of those candidates are in the suburban Milwaukee area: Muskego-Norway School Board candidate Patti Morales and Wauwatosa School Board candidates Jason Wautier, Liz Heimerl-Rolland, Lynne Woehrle and Melissa Lamers.
Its January 2026 report did not show any campaign activity, online campaign finance records showed.
Contact Alec Johnson at 262-875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Political money pours into Wisconsin’s school board elections
Reporting by Alec Johnson and Tamia Fowlkes, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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