On March 21st, Andover SEPAC released a public endorsement of two candidates running for School Committee.
The Bancroft PTO Board is not comfortable supporting any organization that take sides in election of representatives due to both ethical and legal concerns. These concerns include the bearing of such an endorsement on the PTO’s tax exempt status as a 501(c)(3) organization prohibited from “directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office” (See the IRS website for reference).
The PTO made attempts to get clarification on the legality of the SEPAC political endorsement and was unable to do so.
On March 28th, out of discomfort with the situation, the Bancroft PTO board passed the following motion:
The Bancroft PTO will cease to make donations to Andover SEPAC until there is clarity around:
1. the legality of making donations at all and
2. the laws under which they operate.
It is our understanding that the PTOs & PACs supporting the nine other Andover Public Schools have passed similar motions related to SEPAC donations.
At their April 2nd meeting, the School Committee and Superintendent raised questions about the SEPAC candidate endorsement, including the legality of the endorsement, the appearance of impropriety, and SEPAC’s adherence to open meeting laws. We will leave continued investigation of these matters to them.
The Bancroft PTO supports the mission of Andover SEPAC and encourages support of special education programs and support for Andover students and families. We look forward to a fast resolution to this situation for the good of Andover schools & the community.
The Bancroft PTO Board