In what turned out to be an expensive D.C. State Board of Education race, educators and those seeking to shake up the system won by double-digit percentages.

Collectively, candidates raised more than $260,000 for this race, according to campaign finance reports. But it is unclear how much the money swayed voters. Ruth Wattenberg of Ward 3, Zachary Parker of Ward 5 and Jessica Sutter in Ward 6 outraised their competitors and won in their respective wards. But in Ward 1, the city’s most expensive race—totaling about $130,000—Emily Gasoi beat Jason Andrean, even though her $42,271 was dwarfed by his whopping $66,355 in donations.

Perhaps more puzzling, all that money was spent for offices that really exercise little power.

So, What Do These Victories Mean?

Since 2007, when Mayor Adrian Fenty brought D.C. schools under mayoral control, the elected body controlling education in the District has had limited influence over operations and policies. Currently, State Board of Education members can only advise and approve policies set forth by the state superintendent. But lately the body has been trying to play a more active role. Most recently, it commissioned a report on teacher retention, pointing to the city’s high turnover rate.

Union-backed supporters, vocal about changing the current power structure over schools, overwhelmingly won in this election. Wattenberg, Parker, and Gasoi have each expressed dissatisfaction with the complete control over the education system that Mayor Muriel Bowser has. They have called for more external oversight, with Wattenberg and Gasoi voicing support for bills that would create an education research group in the auditor’s office and allow the State Board of Education to appoint the superintendent, who is currently appointed by the mayor. The superintendent allocates federal funding for traditional D.C. public schools and charter schools. (The D.C. schools chancellor controls only the traditional public schools.)

Wattenberg, in particular, has been vocal about her dissatisfaction with changes that came it effect with mayoral control of schools, writing opinion articles and harping on school scandals during candidate debates. In response, the Washington Post’s editorial board, which has supported Bowser, labeled Wattenberg a “negative influence,” and endorsed her opponent, Dora Currea. Despite the endorsement, Wattenberg won nearly 70 percent of the vote.

This was not only a victorious moment for those seeking to shake up the system. Having classroom experience also seemed to give candidates an edge. Parker, Gasoi and Sutter all have been classroom teachers in D.C. schools, and throughout the campaign they made their experience central in distinguishing themselves from their opponents.

Sutter, in Ward 6, was the only former classroom teacher who was not supported by the Washington Teacher’s Union. Unlike other victorious candidates, Sutter is a charter school proponent; her opponent, Joe Weedon, was a strong supporter of neighborhood schools. Ward 6 has seen an increase in its number of charter schools over the years. According to data from the Charter School Board in 2017, there are currently 16 schools located in the ward. Sutter was also the only winning candidate backed by Democrats for Education Reform, a pro-charter political action committee.

This story originally appeared at WAMU.