Several candidates in the five-way race have raised about $20,000 to campaign at a time when school board races across Arizona suffer from a lack of interest.
Statewide, 595 school board positions are on Nov. 4 ballots, but 396, or a full two-thirds, of the races are uncontested. Of those, 56 may have write-in candidates, but no official candidate on the ballot.
In Maricopa County, 88 of 143 school board races were canceled because the candidates ran unopposed or, in nine instances, no candidates stepped up.
Maricopa, Arizona's most populous county, had by far the most cancellations. Yavapai County had the second most uncontested school board races with 54, and Yuma had the fewest with only eight.
When candidates run uncontested, the county's board of supervisors cancels the election to save money and then appoints the candidates to the post as if they were elected.
