This story was originally produced by the Concord Monitor. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
School board members and superintendents can take public positions on the school tax cap ballot question, but cannot use public resources to disseminate their position, according to new guidance issued by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office.
The message was a response to complaints and questions about advertisements that support a position on the Nov. 3 ballot question. It also came days after the Concord Board of Education sent out a statement to families on a school messaging channel urging them to vote against the tax cap. It had garnered some outcry, including from a challenger school board candidate in the fall elections.
On Monday, Concord parents received a message from the school board through a messaging platform called ParentSquare. It’s the kind of place they would usually learn about a snow day or parent-teacher conferences.
In the message, the school board took both logistical and philosophical issues with the tax cap question. It said the measure, if passed, would force it to make cuts harmful to classrooms and students, and urged parents to vote ‘no.’
ParentSquare is a service used by the district, and paid for with public money. When the board got pushback, officials said they took the message down.
“We don’t wish to do anything that’s inappropriate to sort of sway anybody,” board member Brenda Hastings said when the subject came up at a candidate forum on Tuesday. “Our concern was with how the bill is written.”
The state law bans public employees from campaigning on electoral issues, but it doesn’t consider officials who are elected, like the school board, or appointed, like the superintendent, to be prohibited from expressing their opinions, the announcement explained.
While officials like the superintendent can campaign, the release continued, they can’t use public resources to do so. That would generally include, “using public employees to assist in disseminating or posting materials; using school mail or email lists, such as a school-to-parent email list or direct or text messaging system, including cell phone applications or portals; or using school equipment to create or distribute fliers, mailers, and posts.”
The message from the Attorney General’s Election Law Unit didn’t point to Concord or any specific district, but it noted that using public resources to try to influence an election could result in misdemeanor charges or civil fines.
