The 13 elected members of the Hawaii State Board of Education determine policy affecting more than 180,000 students and 20,000 employees statewide and handle roughly 40 percent of the state’s general fund budget.

Yet, it’s one office where candidates don’t seem to have to raise any money to win.

Of the 17 candidates vying for six open seats on the board this fall, only three have yet raised any money for their campaigns.

Civil Beat looked up all of their disclosure forms with the Hawaii and found 12 have not yet filed by the Aug. 2 state deadline. A commission spokesperson said that most likely means the candidates didn’t raise or spend money from January through June of this year. The forms, which are due every six months, are mandatory only for candidates who have raised or disbursed funds for their campaigns.

Those who dig into their own pockets for campaign expenditures are required to note that on the forms as a personal loan, she said. Maui District seat contender Ray Hart is the only candidate to have granted himself a personal loan, in the amount of $588.54.

The complete list of candidates and the money they’ve raised or spent is below:

Candidate Raised Borrowed Spent
Ray Hart $256 $589 $482
Leona Rocha-Wilson $0.00 $0.00 $1,059
Barry Wurst $1,000 $0.00 $0.00
Eileen Clarke N/A N/A N/A
Valzey Freitas N/A N/A N/A
John Penebacker N/A N/A N/A
Noela Andres-Nance N/A N/A N/A
Melanie Bailey N/A N/A N/A
Kathy Bryant-Hunter N/A N/A N/A
Todd Hairgrove N/A N/A N/A
Kim Coco Iwamoto N/A N/A N/A
Malcolm Kirkpatrick $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Marcia Linville N/A N/A N/A
Roberta Mayor N/A N/A N/A
Roger Takabayashi N/A N/A N/A
Brian Yamane* $4,137 0.00 $4,112
Pamela Young N/A N/A N/A

*Yamane was originally running for a state senate seat in this election cycle, so some of his funds raised were for that campaign.

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