A liberal Idaho PAC with funding from a super PAC in Washington, D.C., has entered the West Ada School District trustee election.

School board races are nonpartisan, but PACs on both sides of the aisle have now spent a total of $12,226 to support or oppose candidates running in Idaho’s largest school district.

Idaho Students First PAC on Thursday reported $5,453 in independent expenditures to support the two challengers — Dara Ezzell-Pebworth and Meghan Brown — and oppose the two incumbents. In Zone 1, Ezzell-Pebworth is running against incumbent Lori Frasure. In Zone 3, Brown is running against incumbent Angie Redford.

West Ada made national headlines this year when district officials told a teacher to remove an “Everyone Is Welcome Here” poster, which featured multiracial hands. Brown and Ezzell-Pebworth support inclusion and have been critical of the district’s response.

The chair of Idaho Students First, Elle Casner, is also a vice chair for the Idaho Democratic Party. Casner wrote in an email to EdNews Monday that she is the bookkeeper. The PAC’s spokesperson is Marji Bass, a former teacher and West Ada grandmother. EdNews was unable to reach Bass on Monday.

The PAC received one individual contribution this year, but in 2024 reported a $20,000 donation from the National Education Association Advocacy Fund, a D.C.-based super PAC associated with the nation’s largest teachers’ union, and a $5,000 donation from Take Back Idaho PAC.

Idaho Students First spent more money in the Zone 3 race than Zone 1. The group spent $3,096 in advertising and postage to support Brown and oppose Redford. In the other race, the group spent $2,356 to support Ezzell-Pebworth and oppose Frasure.

The spending from Idaho Students First comes one week after the conservative Idaho Majority Club PAC spent $6,773 in independent expenditures to support Frasure and Redford.

Idaho Majority Club has reported hundreds of donations from a mix of individuals and companies, with the majority of its money in the past two years coming from in-state. The group this year received $85,000 from Wyoming-based Make Highways Great Again LLC and $35,000 from Meridian-based Blackrock Homes.

Idaho Students First has a total of three donations: $1,000 from Eagle resident Brenda Balantyne and the two contributions from PACs last year. Most of its funding comes from out of state.

Election Day is Nov. 4.