The final campaign reports for last fall's elections are starting to come in and they show that Cynthia Matson was at a major funding disadvantage in her bid to win a seat on the Wake County school board.

In Matson's final report filed Tuesday, the Republican-backed candidate reported having raised and spent $13,807.10. Her Democratic opponent in District 5, Jim Martin, hasn't filed his final report yet. But Martin had reported raising $31,534.46 as of Sept. 26.

The biggest contributor in Matson's latest report is conservative businessman Art Pope, who gave $4.000. All five Republican school board candidates have reported receiving donations from Pope except for Venita Peyton, whose final report isn't in yet.

Get ready for what looks to be a rocky budget season between the Wake County Board of Commissioners and the Wake County school board.

As noted in today's article by Thomas Goldsmith, the commissioners will vote today on appointing Republicans Joe Bryan, Paul Coble and Tony Gurley to the budget, finance and education committee. Click here to view the committee assignments. The document mistakenly says 2011 and not 2012.

Bryan, nominated to chair the committee, says the GOP majority on the board of commissioners will likely stick with its pay-as-you-go philosophy of maintaining services based on the lowered revenue streams of recession years. The county is projecting slow revenue growth for the upcoming fiscal year.

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.

School board chairman Ron Margiotta is promoting how "a bi-partisan group of Wake County leaders are speaking out in support of (his) leadership of the Wake County Public School System."

In a press release today, Margiotta says the statements show that he "is being recognized and commended for his commitment to Wake County schools as well as his continued focus on raising achievement for each student." Some of the names are who'd you expect, such as Apex Mayor Keith Weatherly, Holly Springs Mayor Dick Sears, Garner Mayor Ronnie Williams, Rolesville Mayor Frank Eagles and County Commissioners, Joe Bryan, Paul Coble and Tony Gurley.

But would you expect a statement from Knightdale Mayor Russell Killen? Killen spoke at the Friends of Diversity press conference just before the 2009 school board elections. He's also a member of the same law firm as Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker.

“Chairman Margiotta has taken an active interest in Knightdale schools, and I appreciate all of the time and effort he has devoted to understanding and improving the schools in our area," Killen says in the press release.

Wake County school board candidate Heather Losurdo has raised more than $30,000 in her bid to win the District 3 seat.

The new campaign finance report filed today shows that Losurdo had raised $30,529.55 as of Aug. 30 with $11,801.85 on hand. No updated reports are in yet for school board member Kevin Hill or challenger Jennifer Mansfield. Eric Squires doesn't have to file one because he's spending less than $1,000.

Losurdo's biggest donors in the new report are the $4,000 apiece from Art Pope, Katherine Pope and Bob Luddy.

Republicans and Democrats are going after each other in another round of squabbling about the Wake County school board elections.

In this week's issue of the Elephant Express, Wake County Republican Party Chairwoman Susan Bryant responds to state Democratic Party Chairman David Parker's Aug. 20 call to action to his party's members.

Parker blames the changes in Wake schools on the "vicious fanaticism" of those carrying on Jesse Helms' legacy. In the process, Parker invokes the Tea Party, the Koch brothers and Wake County Commissioners Chairman Paul Coble.

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 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.

Wake County school board candidate Heather Losurdo announced Friday that she had been endorsed by the four Republican members of the Wake board of commissioners.

In her press release, Losurdo said her "campaign is proud to announce the endorsement by these majority members of the Wake County Commission: Chairman Paul Coble, Vice Chairman Phil Matthews, Joe Bryan and Tony Gurley."

Losurdo has already been endorsed by GOP school board members Chris Malone, Ron Margiotta, Deborah Prickett and John Tedesco in her bid to win the District 3 seat from incumbent Kevin Hill. Jennifer Mansfield is also running for the seat.