And if you live in the Cypress area, you might have noticed a lot of interest in its school board election.
There are three seats up for grabs in this election cycle -- trustee positions 5, 6, and 7. Winners will serve four-year terms.
Cy-Fair ISD board meetings have been packed in recent years, with trustees and community members sparring over topics like gender identity, book bans, and religious curriculum.
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"You get this outside money, all of a sudden, it changes the dynamics of this very small school board race," said Duncan Klussmann, the former superintendent of Spring Branch ISD and current assistant professor of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies at the University of Houston.
According to campaign finance reports on Cy-Fair ISD's website, the board's nine candidates have already raised $83,614 in donations, with three candidates raising more than $10,000 each and two raising more than $20,000.
The donation numbers are from reports 30 days out from the election, so they will surely rise as money keeps coming in.
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"I think some individuals nationally realize that school board races are usually pretty small," Klussmann said. "There's not a large voter turnout, and it would be races that would be somewhat easier to control."
Records show donations are coming from political action committees that describe themselves as promoting safety and educational causes. They also show thay elected officials, both Republican and Democratic, have also given money, even donating outside their districts in some cases.
"Any time you accept a large sum of money, there are strings attached," Klussmann added. "Anyone who says they don't believe strings are attached, they just aren't telling the truth."
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