Wake County school board candidate Heather Losurdo raised nearly $100,000 in her unsuccessful campaign bid.

In her final campaign report filed Monday, Losurdo reported raising $99,207.29 and spending $98,207.83 It was a record amount for a Wake school board race.

The Republican outspent her main District 3 opponent, Democrat Kevin Hill, who raised $68,598 and spent $54,322. But the numbers look to be more in Hill's favor when you factor in the outside spending.

Wake County school board candidate Donna Williams raised close to $50,000 in her unsuccessful bid to win the District 6 seat.

In her final 2011 campaign finance report filed earlier this month, Williams reported raising $48,335.96. The Republican spent all the money and closed out the campaign committee.

Her main Democratic opponent, Christine Kushner, raised $51,343.47 and spent $37,123.21 to easily win the Raleigh seat. Combined, Williams and Kushner spent nearly $100,000.

Wake County school board District 6 candidate Donna Williams has narrowed the funding gap between her and Christine Kushner despite having gotten off to a late start.

A new campaign finance report filed this week shows that Williams has raised $41,370.83 as of Sept. 26 with $18,761.70 on hand. Through that same time period, Kushner had raised $50,406.93 with $31,383.11 on hand.

The biggest donors in Williams' new report are the $1,500 from the Northern Wake Republican Club and $1,000 from Dr. James Fulghum.

Former state auditor Les Merritt, who served from 2004 to 2008, criticizes the state Ethics Commission in an opinion piece in the Fayetteville Observer. The Republican says "the eight commissioners who are expected to serve the public as an effective regulatory and watchdog entity have been silent in the face of the state's continuing ethics crisis."

It's possible that the school system might have been overcharged on office supplies from Office Depot.

State Auditor Leslie Merritt announced today that he’s probing whether the Office Depot contract managed by the U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance charged appropriate prices for $5 million of office supplies to local and state agencies.

Under that contract, the Wake school system is being charged with $454,738 in supplies, the most of any group on the list.