Wake County school board member Chris Malone is facing a new political attack over how winning a state House seat would result in the Democratic school board majority filling his vacancy.

In a newspaper ad running this week, Duane Cutlip is blaring the message "Malone to give school board seat to Democrat." Cutlip, who is competing against Malone for the Republican nomination for the state House 35 seat, says "you can have a conservative Republican in the House without giving up a School Board seat to get him!"

"I'm grateful to have Chris on the School board and fully support him finishing his term so we can keep a conservative voice there and pick up a conservative seat in the Legislature!" Cutlip says in the ad.

If Malone, Debra Goldman or John Tedesco win this November in their bid for higher office, they'd have to resign from the school board. The remaining school board members would fill any vacancies through the end of the terms in 2013.

Wake County school board member Kevin Hill says he wants to correct "misinformation" about Baileywick Elementary School that was spread by Heather Losurdo during her unsuccessful bid to unseat him.

Under the words "Rock Bottom," Losurdo had put out a campaign mailer saying "Baileywick Elementary School is a high needs declining enrollment school in Raleigh that deserves Federal funding under the needs-based formula instead of being funded on a per-pupil basis." She charged that "Hill has refused to advocate for them, so they have been unable to get the funds and resources they need."

During Tuesday's board meeting, Hill said it was "really important to give Baileywick a good shout out," as he pointed to the school's academic accomplishments.

Common Sense Matters targeted Wake County school board candidate Heather Losurdo with more than $27,000 in attack mailers the week before the election, part of more than $80,000 the liberal advocacy group spent against her during the campaign.

A new campaign finance report released Monday by the Wake County Board of Elections shows that Common Sense Matters targeted Losurdo with $27,154 in mailers on Nov. 2-3. Based on this and earlier filings, the group spent at least $82,258.18 attacking Losurdo.

The actual number Common Sense Matters spent against Losurdo is higher because it doesn't include an unknown portion of $10,431.06 on postage for mailers targeting both Losurdo and school board chairman Ron Margiotta. All together, the reports show that Common Sense Maters spent $111,701.75 in mailers throughout the school board campaign.

The last-minute mailers from Common Sense Matters were made possible by a Nov. 4 infusion of $28,500 from the N.C. Futures Action Fund, led by Democratic activist Dean Debnam. All together, Debnam's group gave Common Sense Matters $133,500 during the campaign.

The state Republican Party is telling voters in a last-minute campaign mailer that Wake County school board candidate Heather Losurdo has "the right priorities for our children."

The mailer says that "Heather believes in neighborhood schools and parental choice and will use proximity as the number one priority for school assignment." The GOP also says "the new Choice Plan will be the foundation for providing parents and students with stability and provide an opportunity to improve every school."

The mailer says "Heather will listen to the people and be responsive." Referencing the Bedford reassignment controversy, the mailer also says that "in contrast, Heather's opponent responded to over 300 parents concerned about busing their children to another school by saying he intended to 'stonewall' them."

The groups not affiliated with Wake County school board member Kevin Hill and challenger Heather Losurdo pumped out a lot of campaign mailers.

As noted in today's article, at least $70,000 was spent by outside groups in targeted mailers in the District 3 runoff election. Some of the mailers got pretty rough.

For instance, Dean Debnam, a local Democratic activist who advocates for progressive causes, didn't see any problems with the mailers his N.C. Futures Action Fund bankrolled for Common Sense Matters.

Can you imagine Wake County school board member Kevin Hill as a hippie?

That's the approach in this new campaign mailer sent late last week by Civitas Action that works on the theme that Hill supports failed policies of the past. The group photoshopped an image of Hill wearing a tie-dyed T-shirt and making a peace symbol. It also shows a drawing of a VW bus.

"Just like shag carpet and leisure suits, Kevin Hill's policies were bad, and belong in the past," says the mailer from the conservative advocacy group.

Democratic Wake school board member Kevin Hill is crossing party lines to make a last-minute pitch to Republican voters.

In this new campaign mailer hitting mailboxes today, Hill touts his experience as an educator and the message "excellent schools + high achievement = economic prosperity." Perry Woods, who is advising Hill, said this mailer was sent to Republicans who voted Oct. 11.

"The focus of my adult life has been on putting students first," Hill says in the mailer. "My allegiance is solely on ensuring every Wake County child receives the education they need and deserve to be successful."

Turnout will be crucial Tuesday as fewer people will likely cast votes in the runoff than in the general election. In theory,  Republicans are more likely to go for Heather Losurdo. But Hill could pick up some GOP votes from this mailer.

In somewhat election-related news, AdvancED will be back in town at the end of the month to assess how well the Wake County school system is doing with the issues the accreditation organization announced in March.

In the March report, AdvancED criticized the school board's governance and put the high schools on accreditation warned status. AdvancED identified seven action steps in its report and gave Wake a year to address the issues.

Ann Majestic, the school board's attorney, said a review team from AdvancED will return on Nov. 29-30 to see what's happened in the past six months. Superintendent Tony Tata has said they're seeking to fully comply with AdvancED's requested changes.

Common Sense Matters tells voters in this campaign mailer that "the Tea Party doesn't want you to vote in Tuesday's (Wake County school board) runoff election."

"The Tea Party is on the brink of controlling Wake County public schools; now it all comes down to Tuesday's runoff election," says the mailer. "If Tea Party activist Heather Losurdo wins, so does the Tea Party — because then they will continue their partisan, slash-and-burn agenda that's hurting our public schools. So it's no wonder that Tea Party extremists have poured more than $14,000 into Losurdo's campaign."

The mailer includes a screen capture of Losurdo being interviewed by WTVD, where she said "Yes, I support the Tea Party."

The mailer is one in a series sent by Common Sense Matters, which is affiliated with local Democrats. One of the donors is the N.C. Futures Action Fund, a group led by Democratic activist Dean Debnam.

Common Sense Matters tells voters in this campaign mailer that "if you stop (Wake County school board candidate) Heather Losurdo, you stop the Tea Party."

"The Tea Party is counting on you to skip next Tuesday's runoff election, so they can take control of the Wake County School Board," says the mailer. "They're hoping you won't stop Heather Losurdo, who is backed by Tea Party radicals with a right-wing agenda that is hurting our public schools. So it's no wonder that Tea Party extremists have poured more than $14,000 into Losurdo's campaign."

The mailer includes a picture of Losurdo speaking at a Tea Party rally.

The mailer is one in a series sent by Common Sense Matters, which is affiliated with local Democrats. One of the donors is the N.C. Futures Action Fund, a group led by Democratic activist Dean Debnam.