Wake County school board candidate Heather Losurdo has raised a record total of more than $80,000 in her bid to unseat incumbent Kevin Hill.

New campaign finance reports made public today show that Losurdo had reported raising $82,357 through Oct. 24. The prior record was the $79,500 that conservative businessman Bob Luddy had raised, largely out of his own pocket, in his unsuccessful run for the school board in 1997.

Hill’s new report shows he’s raised $42,748 through Oct 24. While Hill has almost half of Losurdo’s total, outside groups not connected to his campaign have spent tens of thousands of dollars on mailers and television ads attacking Losurdo.

SEE END OF POST FOR REACTIONS FROM BOTH CAMPAIGNS

Ron Margiotta has become only the third person to have raised more than $50,000 in a Wake County school board race.

A new campaign finance report filed this week shows that the incumbent board chairman had raised $52,748.31 as of Sept. 26. He has $31,915.55 on hand in the District 8 race.

Margiotta leads Susan Evans, who had raised $37,524.69 as of Sept. 26 with $21,770.23 on hand. But you also have to keep in mind the thousands of dollars spent by outside groups urging people to support Evans or vote against Margiotta.

There's no question this election cycle about conservative businessman Art Pope's direct financial involvement in the Wake County school board elections.

Campaign finance reports filed last week by school board candidate Donna Williams showed she had raised $22,456.33. That includes $4,000 from Pope, $4,000 from his wife and $4,000 from conservative businessman Bob Luddy.

Pope's role in the 2009 school board elections has been hotly debated. Pope has repeatedly pointed to how he only gave money to the Wake County Republican Party in 2009 and not to any individual school board candidates.

Wake County school board chairman Ron Margiotta is promoting a new campaign website that includes statements from supporters.

In a press release today, Margiotta's campaign said the new www.isupportron.com site was created "in reaction to the strong support he has received from citizens throughout Wake County." You can send an email to ronmargiotta@gmail.com if you want to submit your own statement in support.

The website includes written and video statements from a variety of people, including several elected officials. For instance, state Sen. Neal Hunt says he supports Margiotta in his District 8 run because "we need education, not diversity."

Wake County school board candidate Heather Losurdo has announced a new round of endorsements from Republican elected officials.

In a press release Friday, Losurdo said her campaign "is proud to announce the endorsement and full support of the following members of the North Carolina Legislature." She listed state Sen. Neal Hunt, state House Majority Leader Paul Stam, state Rep. Marilyn Avila and state Rep. Tom Murry.

Losurdo, who in all likelihood will be the GOP endorsed candidate in District 3, has already picked up endorsements from several Wake County commissioners and school board members.

Wake County school board candidate Heather Losurdo has raised $12,749.55 in her bid to oust incumbent Kevin Hill from his District 3 seat.

In her latest report filed today, Losurdo's biggest donor is Wake County Commissioner Tony Gurley, who gave her $4,000. Other notable donors include Wake County Commissioners Chairman Paul Coble, state Rep. Marilyn Avila, school board member Deborah Prickett and state Sen. Neal Hunt's campaign committee.

Click here, here and here to view the various sections of Losurdo's new report.

Monday's meeting of the Wake County legislative delegation could be more eventful than normal.

The scheduled presenters include Wake County school board chairman Ron Margiotta, Wake Tech President Stephen Scott and N.C. State Chancellor Randy Woodson. You can expect a lot of discussion about funding, which is appropriate because state Sen. Neal Hunt is both co-chair of the Wake delegation and co-chair of the Senate appropriations committee.

Margiotta could also make the pitch for the school board's legislative agenda, which includes changing state law to allow the board chair to vote on all issues. You might even see the high school accreditation bill come up.

The meeting is at 4 p.m. in Room 415 of the Legislative Office Building on North Salisbury Street in downtown Raleigh. The meeting is open to the public.

Businessmen Art Pope and Jim Goodmon are out in the financial forefront when it comes to backing candidates for Wake County Board of Commissioners.

As noted in today's article, the latest round of campaign reports show that  Pope and his family have given at least $32,000 to Republican candidates for commissioner. Campaign reports also show that Goodmon and his wife have given at least $13,000 to Democratic candidates for commissioner.

“It’s a contributor referendum on the school board,” said Democratic candidate Jack Nichols.

While the bill will probably go nowhere this session, state Sen. Neal Hunt has again introduced legislation in support of neighborhood schools.

Under S218, students who live within 1.5 miles of a school would either have to be assigned there or get a voucher to help pay for the cost of attending a private school.

At-large school board elections for Wake are back before the General Assembly.

State Sen. Neal Hunt filed S-72 on Wednesday calling for four of the nine Wake school board seats to be elected on an at-large, countywide basis. The other five seats would continue to be elected on a district basis.

Hunt, who introduced a similar bill in 2007, said the purpose of his legislation is to allow voters to have a say on a majority of the school board seats.