With the final financial reports in before Tuesday’s election, the fundraising winners for the two available seats on the Pinellas County School Board are Joanne Lentino and Carol Cook.
Lentino, a retired teacher, has raised a total of $38,588 in her run for the District 1 seat on the board. Her opponent is Matt Stewart, an HR manager over talent management for Hillsborough County and a member of the adjunct faculty at St. Petersburg College. Stewart has raised a total of $34,440.
In the final reporting period from Oct. 22 through Nov. 3, Lentino raised $3,681. The bulk of that — $2,750 — came from unions: SEIU Florida Pac ($1,000), Millwrights and Machinists Pac ($1,000), Iron Workers Local 397 Pac ($500), and UCFW Local 1625 ($250).
Stewart brought in $2,400 during the same time period. Of that, $2,300 came from his own pocket.
The District 1 race is voted on countywide.
In the race for District 5, incumbent Cook raised a total of $31,245.74. Challenger Eliseo Santana, a retired communications maintenance supervisor at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, raised a total of $28,545.
In the final reporting period, Santana outpaced Cook at fundraising, $1,500 to $760. But most of Santana’s came from one source — the Millwrights and Machinists Local 1000 Pac that donated $1,000. Among other donations, Cook received $150 from the Republican Club of Greater Largo.
District 5 covers a portion of mid-Pinellas County and is voted on only by residents of that area.
All school board races are nonpartisan.
