Eight candidates vying for three open seats on the Los Altos School District Board of Trustees last fall found the election financially demanding. According to the final campaign statements filed in January with the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, two candidates approached the $30,000 spending mark and one spent nearly $50,000.

Francis La Poll, former Los Altos City mayor and councilmember, spent $47,643 for his 3,672 votes, good for fourth in the running. La Poll spent approximately $12.97 per vote. In contrast, candidate David Struthers, who finished just behind La Poll with 3,550 votes, spent $2,744 or 77 cents per vote.

The three candidates elected to the school board, Mark Goines, David Pefley and David Luskin, also spent large sums. Luskin expended $28,429 for his 6,514 votes ($4.36 per vote); Goines, $28,014 ($3.42 per vote) for 8,182 votes, tops among vote-getters; and Pefley, $20,666 for 7,933 votes ($2.61 per vote).

“This appears to be the most expensive election in local history, exceeding even the Measure H Parcel Tax campaign in 2002,” noted Richard Hasenpflug, a longtime school district supporter and member of the district’s Citizen’s Advisory Committee for Finance. Hasenpflug compiled and broke down the candidates’ spending figures, which he presented to the Town Crier. The Crier verified the numbers with the registrar of voters office.

In total, the school board candidates spent $133,295 for 34,957 votes, amounting to $3.81 per vote.

The remaining candidates were Kathryn Uhlir (2,875 votes, $5,799 spent); Tamara Logan, who dropped out early in the campaign, receiving 1,499 votes; and Bruce Wiener, who received 714 votes. Logan and Wiener each spent less than the $1,000 limit, which requires filing financial statements.