The seven candidates running for Polk County School (PCPS) Board seats in the 2026 primary election have raised a combined total of $264,315. These races will be decided Tuesday, Aug. 18. All registered voters in the county can vote in each of these nonpartisan races.
Now that the fundraising period has closed, we looked beyond the totals to see where support for each candidate is coming from.
None of these contributions by themselves establish that a candidate will favor a particular company or industry. Campaign finance records show who is providing financial support; they do not establish the motivations behind those contributions or how an elected official will act in office.
The relationships provide another way to look at fundraising totals — not simply how much money candidates have raised, but who has a financial stake in the education and school-construction ecosystem and which candidates are receiving that support.
District 3: Wallace | Corona | Sims
Kate Wallace was appointed to the District 3 seat last year on Nov. 7, 2025, by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Bartow native has raised nearly twice the amounts of her opponents, including $5,000 in self-financing and 34 donations at the maximum $1,000 level. 43% of her contributions came from outside Polk County.
Several of Wallace’s larger donations come from real estate and development investors and construction companies including: Cassidy Holdings Group, GLK Real Estate, and Jason Rodda, owner of Rodda Construction, who donated to all three incumbents.
Rodda Construction has an ongoing business relationship with PCPS. Recently, the School Board named Rodda Construction Construction Manager-at-Risk for work on the Kathleen Middle School structural stabilization project. The company is also listed as a contractor for a new Poinciana-area high school.
Political newcomer Sarah Corona has raised nearly $35,000 with 121 contributions and the highest percentage of in-county donations in the District 3 race, 71%. Corona contributed $5,000 to her campaign in the form of a $4,000 loan and a $1,000 donation.
Among Corona’s 14 top donors, notable names include Hoyt Barnett and Pamela Mutz. Philanthropist and Polk State College Trustee Ashley Bell-Barnett, Chris McLaughlin, owner of Keller Williams Realty of Central Florida, and Josh Borem, owner of Borem Fire Protection Services contributed to both Corona and Wallace’s campaigns.
Corona’s report also includes construction-related contributions, including $1,000 from ORB Construction Management and $500 from Pollard Construction.
Victor Sims has the most individual contributions. The average amount per contribution is $72, the lowest in the District 3 race. 63% of his donations are from inside Polk County.
Sims’ two top donors are former PCPS School Board Member Sarah Fortney and the Florida Pipeline Project, a nonprofit “investing in progressive candidates, campaigns, and infrastructure.”
Sims’ campaign totals are otherwise dominated by relatively small-dollar contributions from individuals, with substantially less financial support from commercial construction, engineering, and property-development interests.
District 5: Fields | Neelam
Kay Fields is the longest-serving member of the School Board. This will be her last term if elected. Fields has the highest percentage of local donations of any candidate for School Board, 93%. She loaned her campaign $9,000 and has donated $1,100.
Fields’ top donors include family member Chandra Frederick and private citizen LaShaun Woodard. Her campaign is also supported by multiple former Lakeland mayors including her husband Gow Fields, Bill Mutz, and Howard Wiggs. Jason Rodda, of Rodda Construction, has also contributed.
Sam Neelam is a technology entrepreneur and Florida Polytechnic University trustee. He is the most self-financed candidate in the race with $40,000 in personal financing. Current public campaign finance records list his total donations at $45,016.
74% of Neelam’s campaign contributions came from inside Polk County.
Outside of his personal contributions and a small number of donations from private citizens, Neelam also received $1,000 contributions from Cassidy Holdings Group, GLK Real Estate, and real estate investor John David Alexander.
District 6: Sharpless | Hampton
The District 6 race shows the starkest contrast in both fundraising totals and the sources of campaign money.
Incumbent Justin Sharpless has received $55,300 across 106 contributions.
58% of his campaign’s total contributions came from outside of Polk County. Much of his campaign’s donations were from people and companies connected to school construction, school property development, and the charter-school industry.
Among those donors were Public School Development Solutions, Public School Property Development, Rodberg Construction, Lauren Hollander, P & T Construction, Mavericks In Education, Compass Charter Schools, and Seth McKeel, who also donated to Wallace’s campaign.
Taken together, donors with documented ties to school construction, public-school development, charter-school development, or charter-school leadership account for about 32%, around $17,750, of Sharpless’ total fundraising.
Challenger Kasen Chase Hampton’s campaign presents a different fundraising model. Hampton received $2,417 across 36 contributions.
Hampton’s campaign is dominated by smaller contributions from individuals. 89% of Hampton’s campaign donations originated in Polk County.
Erin Grant and Anna Toms are reporters for LkldNow, a nonprofit newsroom providing independent local news for Lakeland. Read at LkldNow.com.
