Billboards for likely SPS board candidates went up weeks ago, marking early campaign start

The filing window for Springfield school board candidates did not open until Tuesday — and the earliest names will be certified to appear on the ballot is January — but campaigning on behalf of three likely candidates started weeks ago.

In mid-November, campaign billboards for incumbent Maryam Mohammadkhani and second-time candidates Chad Rollins and Landon McCarter started to appear along major thoroughfares.

The April 2 election is still four months away. This appears to be the earliest that large-scale campaigning has started for a school board race in Springfield.

More recently, the conservative Back on Track PAC— which publicly backed Mohammadkhani, McCarter and Rollins in the past — has started touting its endorsement of the three on its website and in Facebook ads. The stated goal of the political action committee is to "take back the schools."

At least three digital billboards, all owned by Jared Outdoor Advertising, have been showing the board campaign ads for Mohammadkhani, McCarter and Rollins. The billboards are located on West Republic Road, Sunshine Street near the Bass Pro Shops and Glenstone Avenue, across from the Battlefield Mall.

The company owns eight billboards in Springfield. It was not immediately known if the other five have or will also feature campaign materials.

The News-Leader left messages seeking comment for Curtis Jared, president and CEO of Jared Enterprises, board member Mohammadkhani and potential candidates McCarter and Rollins, who ran for the board in 2023 but were not elected.

Mohammmadkhani was the only one the News-Leader was able to interview. Rollins left a voicemail saying only that he planned to file Tuesday. McCarter and Jared did not respond.

Mohammadkhani said she did not pay for the billboards and they were an "in-kind" donation — which do not have to be disclosed as part of campaign reports to the Missouri Ethics Commission until early next year — and that she appreciates the support of Jared and others who backed her successful 2021 election.

She said she was aware of the billboards but did not provide new campaign materials for them. The images used for the billboard were from her 2021 campaign.

Asked about the early start to campaigning this year, Mohammadkhani said the timing was decided by the billboard donor. But she said the late fall timing was likely inspired by the approach that board member Judy Brunner took during her 2023 campaign.

Brunner, who formed a campaign committee in late November 2022, raised the most funds and garnered the most votes. She was sworn in mid-April along with incumbent Shurita Thomas-Tate, who narrowly edged out McCarter — by fewer than 300 votes — to win another term.

The News-Leader asked Brunner when she started last year. She said fundraising started shortly after the campaign committee was formed, the Facebook page was visible Dec. 8 and the website went live in January.

Why Curtis Jared got involved in board races

Jared did not return a phone call seeking comment about the billboards. However, in mid-November, he appeared on KWTO, a conservative radio station, to talk about his high interest in local government in general and the school board in particular.

He said the public's interest in school decisions was heightened during the pandemic and he questioned changes in public school enrollment and test scores.

"For full disclosure, I send my children to a private school and I do that for various reasons," said Jared, noting it was for "religious beliefs" and so they would have a "classical education."

"When I see what is happening with our children and seeing them, how they progress, and just seeing the bonding and how safe the environment is and then I see what is happening in the public schools and the incidents that are happening, it just causes you to wonder why isn't anybody doing anything about it," Jared. "So I've gotten involved over the last few years."

Citing incidents that happened in Springfield high schools in 2017 and 2018, Jared questioned if schools are doing enough to keep students safe.

He said concerns over safety, test scores, technology use and curriculum have driven a push, locally and nationally, for more parental rights in education.

Asked how to get more involved, Jared urged voters to research what candidates say and do in their personal lives because that will be reflected in what decisions they make on the school board.

"When everybody says 'These are nonpartisan races and we all need to be moderates,' first you want good, constructive dialogue. You don't want everybody of the same mindset. You want there to be critical thinking even on our school board. You want people to look at both sides of things," he said.

More: Makoski urges adults, SPS board to lead children 'down the moral path' on gender identity

Jared said when there is discourse — or a spate of split votes, which have been more frequent in recent years — one side gets labeled as disruptive or "troublemakers" because they are asking too many questions.

He predicted there will be an effort to defeat Mohammadkhani in 2024 and Kelly Byrne and Steve Makoski — who have also received his support — the following year.

A look at campaign rules, committees

Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller and Springfield City Clerk Anita Cotter said early campaigning for the school board does not break any rules they're aware of at the state or local level.

Cotter said there are guidelines that outline the placement of campaign signs on public and private property. For example, they are prohibited on a public right-of-way.

Campaign signs on private property must be removed within 48 hours of the election.

"All of our limitations are when they must come down and where they can be located," Cotter said.

Who has expressed interest in running for school board

Mohammadkhani, McCarter and Rollins are among eight Springfieldians who picked up packets to run for the three open seats in 2024.

Others include incumbents Danielle Kincaid and Scott Crise and potential first-time candidates Charity Jordan Rex, Susan Provance, and Kyler Sherman-Wilkins.

The three candidates with the most votes will be sworn-in mid-April. The board sets policy, approves a budget and hires and evaluates the superintendent.

According to the Missouri Ethics Commission website, campaign committees have not been formed — or have been submitted but are not yet visible to the public — for Crise, Jordan Rex, Sherman-Wilkins or Provance.

The committee Kincaid launched for her 2021 bid remains active but she filed updated paperwork in late October.

Rollins terminated his 2023 campaign committee shortly after the April loss and started a new one later than month.

Mohammadkhani and McCarter terminated campaign committees and filed new ones in November.

Under state statute, school board races must be nonpartisan. McCarter filed as nonpartisan for the 2023 race but he filed as a Republican for 2024. Rollins filed as a Republican in 2023 and as nonpartisan for 2024.

Crise, who has not yet launched a new campaign committee, filed as a Republican for the 2021 race that he won. He plans to file as nonpartisan this time.

Claudette Riley covers education for the News-Leader. Email tips to criley@news-leader.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: These Springfield school board candidate billboards went up weeks ago