Twice as much money funded campaigns for SPS school board compared to city council
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Ozarks First Investigates is following the historic spending behind the Springfield school board race in recent years, how it compares to campaign spending for Springfield City Council and one controversial landlord whose name keeps appearing among local, state, and U.S. politicians.
Candidates Gail Smart and Sarah Hough are leading campaign fundraising efforts. Smart, whose husband Clif Smart recently retired from his position as the President of Missouri State University, reported $78,833 in campaign donations as of March 4, 2025.
Sarah Hough, who was previously married to Republican Missouri State Senator Lincoln Hough, reported $64,968 in campaign contributions 40 days prior to the April 8, 2025, municipal election.
In that same period, incumbent candidate Kelly Byrne reported $11,050 in campaign donations and candidate David Myers reported $710 in campaign donations, respectively.
Campaign contributions are expected to increase by the next mandated Missouri Ethics Commission filing, which is due eight days before the April 8 election.
Jerry Hathaway, a voter in Springfield says the spending has gotten out of control.
'It's gotten way out of control because it's been way too politicized in what should be nonpartisan elections,' Hathaway said.
We talked to three of the four candidates today, who said the massive amount of money fueling the school board race isn't inherently bad.
David Myers
'I'm a parent who is far more interested in teacher empowerment and turning around these failing test scores, retaining staff, maintaining discipline in the classroom than how much money I can bring in,' said Myers. 'We're working on a shoestring budget, but more money does not equal being more qualified to be on the school board.'
Kelly Byrne
'On one hand, it shows the sense of urgency that the community feels towards the state of our schools and they value it, and, you know, want to make change,' Byrne said. 'On the other hand, you have this sort of establishment that's been ignited that has seemingly endless funds to cut checks for to sort of protect the sort of establishment hold on school board and city government.'
Gail Smart
'I think the more important thing is, is not how much money is at the moment since we can raise a lot of money, but not how much money is being raised, but who is contributing that money?' said Smart. 'If anyone bothered to look at my financials statement with the Missouri Ethics Commission, they could see exactly who gave me money, and it is from people all over the political spectrum. Independents, Republicans, Democrats, people with no party affiliation, everybody in between.'
Sarah Hough did not respond to our request for comment by the time of publication, but previously interviewed with Ozarks First about her campaign goals.
Ozarks First Investigates found multiple SPS school board candidates accepted donations from people or committees with ties to Elliott Lodging or its owner, Gordon Elliott. Our investigative team has been following reports of unsafe or unsanitary living conditions at Elliott's properties for years now.
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Hough's top donation came from the Lincoln PAC, a Republican Political Action Committee formed in 2017 to support her ex-husband Lincoln. Records show the man who organized the PAC, Dale Deplogle, is the CEO of Elliott Lodging, according to his LinkedIn.
Records show Smart also accepted $1,000 from the owner of Elliott Lodging, Gordon Elliott. Smart told Ozarks First that Elliott is a colleague of her husband Clif. Previously, Elliott served as Chair of the Board of Governors at MSU.
Landlord denies breach of contract over rotting and mold dispute
In 2023, while looking at Elliott's real estate holdings, our investigative team also found Elliott recently ran a non-profit for 12 years while U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt was in office called Friends of Roy Blunt.
According to the Missouri Ethics Commission, Elliott also served as Springfield Mayor Ken McClure's campaign committee treasurer since 2014. McClure's campaign committee was terminated in May 2023.
Elliott contributed money to multiple campaigns for Springfield city council members as well.
Ozarks First Investigates added up how much money the sitting school board raised in campaign contributions in the most recent election cycle. Seven school board members collectively received nearly half a million dollars, or about $491,598, in the latest election before assuming their board positions.
Ozarks First Investigates found that's about $70,000 on average per board member and more than double the amount of money poured into campaigns for current Springfield City Council members, excluding the mayor.
SPS School Board President Danielle Kincaid
$74,714 in campaign contributions when re-elected in 2024
Current candidates Gail Smart and Sarah Hough donated to Danielle Kincaid's campaign in 2024.
Judy Brunner
$87,123 raised in campaign contributions when elected in 2023
Springfield developer Bryan Magers donated $8,000 to Brunner's campaign and is also a top donor for candidate Gail Smart, according to campaign finance documents filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission.
Kelly Byrne
$48,504 raised in campaign contributions when elected in 2022
Steve Makoski
$47,177 campaign contributions when elected in 2022
Maryam Mohammadkhani
$103,764 campaign contributions when re-elected in 2024
Mohammadkhani donated $5,000 to Kelly Byrne's campaign. Byrne is running for a second term in the April 2025 election.
Susan Provance
$70,503 campaign contributions when elected in 2024
Shurita Thomas-Tate
$59,813 in campaign contributions when re-elected in 2022
Spending for SPS school board candidates has increased drastically over the last decade. For example, records from the Missouri Ethics Commission show the previous school board president Denise Fredrick, who maintained the position from 2008 to 2020, reported $10,425 in campaign contributions in 2011.
Ozarks First Investigates did not find other records of campaign finance filings over the course of Fredrick's tenure as board president.
Ozarks First Investigates compiled the campaign contribution fundraising that the eight sitting Springfield City Council members reported to the Missouri Ethics Commission when they were most recently elected.
Monica Horton raised $1,713 in the 2023 election.
Abe McGull received $6,600 in the 2019 election. Records from the Missouri Ethics Commission show McGull did not report any campaign contributions when he was re-elected in April 2023.
Brandon Jenson raised $17,643 in the 2023 election.
Matthew Simpson accepted $32,791 in contributions in the 2021 election.
Heather Hardinger raised $48,742 in the 2021 election.
Craig Hosmer reported $15,390 in campaign contributions for his 2021 campaign.
Callie Carroll reported $44,493 in campaign contributions for her 2024 campaign.
Derek Lee accepted $56,463 in campaign donations related to his 2023 campaign.
Together, Springfield City Council members reported nearly $224,000 in campaign contributions to attain or retain their seats, for an average of roughly $27,000 per candidate. That's less than half the amount of money backing SPS school board candidates.
Campaign finance documents also show the owner of Elliott Lodging, Gordon Elliott, donated $1,000 each to Mayor McClure and city council members Derek Lee and Callie Carroll in the April 2023 election.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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