Apr. 1—Local voters continue receiving mailed flyers endorsing two school board candidates who said they have nothing to do with that effort, and it’s not clear who is paying for it all.

The Families for a Strong St. Joseph political action committee has to date reported more than $55,000 in debts incurred toward support for Ronda Chesney and Jacob McMillian. On the reverse side of each flyer, voters are urged to reject Proposition St. Joseph School District, a $20 million bond issue, despite arguments from both Chesney and McMillian that the bond deserves to be passed.

In order for the bond issue to pass, the margin of “yes” votes on Proposition SJSD must exceed 57.143%. Therefore, a little more than 4 in 10 voters rejecting the measure will be enough to defeat it.

Chesney reaffirmed on Monday, as she always has, that she hopes Proposition SJSD will pass.

“As the only former SJSD teacher in the race, I support the bond and I also support a teacher pay increase,” she said. “I’m unfamiliar with the details and the funding of any PAC that has participated in this election. I am personally a huge team player.”

McMillian offered his own statement, which has been excerpted for length. The entire statement is attached to this story.

“Despite our differences concerning the bond, I am thankful that the Families PAC resonates with my positions of academic success, parental rights, safe and disciplined classrooms and a five-day school week. The endorsement of the Families PAC is no different than any other endorsement,” he said. “… The Families PAC has a right to endorse candidates and oppose the bond as long as they follow the Missouri Ethics Commission’s guidelines.”

Unrelated to McMillian and Chesney, a group called Teachers First LLC of Kansas City, Missouri, spent $40,000 for a video advertisement against the bond. Invoking previous judicial proceedings involving Superintendent Gabe Edgar and last month’s misdemeanor charge against Board of Education member Whitney Lanning, the advertisement urges voters to not “give a $20 million check” to the school district.

The more than $55,000 of expenses logged by Families PAC has not been updated since Wednesday, so any new purchases may add to the tally, which already exceeds all school board candidate spending combined. To date, only $100 of the Families PAC spending is accounted for, and it traces back to Excelsior PAC of Kansas City, Missouri.

The more than $55,000 remaining is listed as debt that will have to be paid by somebody later, which (for the moment) appears to satisfy Missouri Ethics Commission requirements of transparency. The MEC does not comment on individual cases.

Based on past filings, Families for a Strong St. Joseph will have to file a report soon for the months of January, February and March, declaring any donors. Finally, it will have to declare all donors, or all debts written off, whenever the PAC terminates operations.

While it’s not yet clear who is underwriting the bills Families PAC has racked up, Axiom Strategies of Kansas City, Missouri, is producing all of the flyers and other messaging.

Only two names can be concretely associated with the Families PAC. The first is Andrew Bakker of Kansas City, who is the designated treasurer. A LinkedIn profile, which has since been deleted, indicates Bakker works or has worked as director of operations for Liberty Alliance USA. It describes itself as a group to “fight for conservative values wherever they are under attack.”

The second name is Chris Vas, who is treasurer of Excelsior PAC, the lone $100 donor for the Families for a Strong St. Joseph. Vas is the director of Cornerstone 1791, a Kansas City, Missouri, group that, among other activities, recently endorsed passage of a Jackson County, Missouri, tax measure, in part to fund Arrowhead Stadium renovations. In its mailers, the Families PAC has repeatedly decried the Proposition SJSD measure, saying the district should put “teachers before turf” and not invest money as planned in athletics upgrades.

Efforts to get in touch with Vas and Bakker have not been successful. The numbers on file produce a generic voicemail prompt when called, and there has been no reply. Vas also works with the Staley M. Herzog Foundation, which supports private education. An email to the foundation asking if Vas would give a statement or interview did not receive a reply.

Marcus Clem can be reached at marcus.clem@newspressnow.com. Follow him on Twitter: @NPNowClem