Republican state superintendent of public instruction candidate Randy Jensen says he raised $38,000 in one month for Idaho schools through his campaign.

Back in April, Jensen called upon his supporters to donate to schools and take advantage of the Idaho Education Tax Credit, instead of contributing to his political campaign.

That money is not independently reported to and released by the Secretary of State’s office like other sunshine reports, but Jensen said he collected most of it himself.

The $38,000 figure does not include money supporters sent directly to schools.

When appearing at campaign events and meeting with supporters, Jensen said he distributed forms allowing his supporters to write a check to schools.

Jensen, the principal of William Thomas Middle School in American Falls, said he is happy with the results and views his strategy as a way to partially remove some of the politics from the state superintendent’s race.

“Everyone is barraged with stuff in the mail and tired of looking at signs and commercials,” he said. “It’s a much better use of the money and a way of putting action to my words that I want to do what is best for kids and schools.”

Contributions ranged between $100 and $5,000, with most of the money benefiting schools, programs and districts in southeast Idaho, Jensen said.

As far as official campaign fundraising goes, Democrat Jana Jones had the strongest showing of the superintendent candidates since Jan. 1, hauling in $51,404.31.

On the Republican side, Andy Grover raised $37,854.15, John Eynon collected $14,783.90, Jensen earned $7,124.20 and Sherri Ybarra amassed $2,850.14.

Jones will face the winner of the Tuesday Republican primary in November’s general election.

If Jensen wins the GOP primary Tuesday, he said he will continue to ask his supporters to donate to the school or district of their choice instead of contributing to his campaign.

Check www.idahoednews.org Tuesday evening for continuously updated results from the GOP primary.