(WXIN/WTTV) — The lessons of an election two years ago are shaping the 2024 Carmel Clay School Board race. And the outcome of the contest may determine control of the board. In 2022, three district seats for the board were on the ballot. A trio of candidates enjoyed some high-profile Republican endorsements. US Senators Mike Braun and Todd Young, plus Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, and the Hamilton County GOP endorsed Adam Sharp, Jenny Brake, and Greg Brown. All three board contests that year were close, but in a city where Republicans dominate, only Brown was victorious. LESSON LEARNED Why didn’t the GOP-endorsed slate win all three seats? According to Brown, a big difference was the backing of opposition candidates by what he described as a “liberal-oriented PAC.” The other winning candidates, current Board President Kristen Kouka and Jennifer Nelson-Williams, were endorsed by Support CCS. “They were effective in providing resources and messaging and so we felt like we needed to bring some balance to the situation,” explained Brown. So, Brown and others decided they needed a PAC of their own. CARMEL EXCELLENCE In July 2023, paperwork was submitted to the Indiana Election Commission establishing the political action committee, Carmel Excellence. Brown and PAC chairperson Erik Young have given and/or loaned Carmel Excellence thousands of dollars to get the organization started. “Carmel Excellence would like to bring a little bit of organization and discipline into that area because it’s not an area that is flush with cash,” said Young. The group’s objective is to help elect conservative candidates to the Carmel Clay Board. Work on that goal began in April of last year with recruiting and vetting potential candidates settling on Robin Clark and Dina Ferchmin. Young notes he also discouraged others from getting into the race to give the Carmel Excellence candidates a better chance at sweeping the two at-large seats in this year’s election. If successful in capturing both seats, conservatives would be a majority on the board, holding three of the five seats. ROBIN CLARK FOX59/CBS4 caught up with Clark campaigning door-to-door in the village of West Clay. “It’s kind of a joke that around the country as soon as somebody declares they’re running for school board they’re all of a sudden a moderate,” said Clark.   Not Clark. “We tell them we are the conservative candidates.” Clark and Ferchmin are independent candidates but there is some cooperation. Their campaign websites link to each other. (See for yourself here on Clark’s site for Clark and here on Ferchmin’s page.) Clark is a mother of three children, all Carmel Clay students. She has a chemical engineering degree from Purdue University and an MBA from Indiana University. While interviewed, Clark noted that when talking with voters, “People want to just get back to focusing on reading, writing, science, social studies and leaving all of the strong values teaching to families in their homes.” Asked what values needed to be taught at home, Clark replied, “Diversity, equity, and inclusion is a big topic right now. What started off with maybe good intentions has just gone a little bit crazy.” Clark continued, “We don’t want to get diversity training or acceptance of people of all different values and lifestyles out of the schools.” But when it comes to classroom discussions, she said, “It makes children self-conscious. It makes them feel marginalized. It really is just the opposite of what we’d like to have.” DINA FERCHMIN Ferchmin, who has a business consulting firm and is a graduate of West Point, believes Carmel Clay schools are slipping. She says that while her three sons attended Carmel High School, “I noticed a decline in academic rigor.” When her youngest son graduated last year, Ferchmin said, “He could turn in assignments whenever. He could turn in a blank sheet of paper and get a minimum of 50%, and that worried me.” While Ferchmin attributes ‘value teaching’ as a factor in the decline of academic performance at Carmel Clay schools, this year’s ILEARN scores paint a different picture. Examining combined Grades 3-8 for both math and English Language Arts, Carmel Clay Schools had the second-highest scores in the state. Brownsburg Community School Corporation topped the list. According to state law, school board races are non-partisan. Political party affiliation is not on the ballot for board candidates. And while Carmel Excellence has consistently described the organization as conservative, Ferchmin is comfortable talking about her political party preference. “Why would I not be transparent and let people know that yes, I’m a Republican?” asked Ferchmin. When questioned if that means her opponents in the race are progressives or Democrats, Ferchmin replied, “But they are! That’s no secret.” SUPPORT CCS “They can say that as much as they want. They’d be inaccurate. We are non-partisan,” said Jennifer Cashin,  chairperson of Support CCS. Cashin says continued community backing for Support CCS and its endorsed candidates is because of the non-partisan nature of the PAC. “On our core committee of four, you have myself as a Republican. You have someone who’s openly a Democrat, someone who’s openly Independent, and someone who just doesn’t care about politics but loves our schools,” said Cashin. But in support of its 2022 candidates, the biggest expenditure for Support CCS was $10,000 to the political consulting firm Brown Progressive Strategies. The home page for their website proclaims, “Getting Democrats Elected.” Asked to explain why a non-partisan group would seek help convincing Democratic voters, Chasin explained it’s about efficiency, “Any good organization regardless of what their personal mission is, is doing more of a comprehensive market analysis as where you’re gonna get your best bang for your buck.” This election’s Support CCS endorsed candidates, Kristina Wheeler and Jon Shapiro stress they are seeking voters who value non-partisan school leadership. JON SHAPIRO Shapiro said he is, “trying to sort of find the middle-of-the-road folks who really need to have this message brought to them.” After working on a college scholarship program for an educational foundation, Shapiro moved on to fundraising efforts for Hope Academy, an Indianapolis high school for students dealing with substance abuse issues. Like the entire field vying in the Carmel Clay School Board contest, Shapiro is a first-time candidate. “I’m out knocking on doors at least three days a week and have some volunteers who are also giving some of their time to help me deliver that message,” said Shapiro. He notes school board races today require more sophisticated tools than placards and yard signs. Among the things Shapiro says he needs include, “Getting access to voter data and be able to look at lists and say, ‘Okay, let’s identify groups of people in different neighborhoods throughout the city let’s go knock on doors and have those conversations'.” “Running for school board has become like running for any other elected office,” said Shapiro. KRISTINA WHEELER “I’m doing my best. It’s an expensive thing to do,” said Kristina Wheeler, in a recent interview conducted on her front porch. She has two daughters, one at Carmel High School, the other a graduate of the school. Wheeler has a degree in elementary education, is an attorney and serves as a vice president on the Carmel Clay Schools Foundation board. At the time of the interview, Wheeler conceded there were likely campaigns with more money. “I’ve heard numbers that others have campaigned on in the previous school board election in the six-figures. I would love to have that. I don’t have that,” said Wheeler. On the suggestion by Carmel Excellence candidates are progressive or liberal, Wheeler rejects that characterization, “I’m conservative when it comes to fiscal decisions. That is one of the main functions of the school board. The more taxes I pay the more I want to take a very close look at how the government spends that money.” Wheeler adds, “I’m trying to differentiate myself in that way as someone who can work with the entire community regardless of how they might politically affiliate themselves.”   CAMPAIGN FINANCE It is impossible to say with much accuracy how much money any of the candidates or either of the PACs have. Campaign finance reports for non-statewide races are not due until mid-October. The last reporting deadline was in April. All four candidates have said or hinted their fundraising target was around $30,000 each. In July, Support CCS sent a mass email seeking 1,000 families to donate $100 each to their effort. Cashin said, “We’re nowhere near that goal, but we’ve had at least strong enough support that allows us to connect with people.” On that $100,000 effort, Young reacted this way, “That’s a formidable task to match that.” FINAL FIVE WEEKS As Election Day closes in, there’s a unique development in the Carmel Clay School Board race. For the first time in its history, the Carmel Teachers Association has endorsed coard candidates. The teachers' union backing the Support CCS slate of Shapiro and Wheeler. Teachers union president Mark Wein said the two, “have proven their dedication to building strong partnerships between teachers, staff, administration and the community.” There will be a debate for all four school board candidates on Sept. 30 sponsored by The Current. It will start at 7 p.m. at the Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are free but the public is encouraged to reserve seats ahead of the debate.