With the upcoming election, it is an excellent time to understand the do’s and don’ts for school board members and staff as it relates to campaigning for school district bond proposals. Section 57 of the Michigan Campaign Finance Act prohibits public bodies from using or authorizing the use of funds, personnel, office space, computer hardware or software, property, stationary, postage, vehicles, equipment, supplies, or other public resources for campaign contributions or expenditures. If a district violates this provision, the penalty can be up to $20,000. If an individual violates this provision, the potential penalty is a misdemeanor fine of up to $1,000 and/or up to a year in jail. Although bond proposals are important, it’s not worth going to jail to support them. The law does provide certain exemptions that allow districts and board members to legally support efforts to pass local bond measures.

Here are some basic guidelines to consider:

• Section 57 does not prevent school boards from objectively informing their communities about the facts of a ballot proposal related to the function of the district.

• School boards can promote bond proposals or other issues related to the function of the district. However, the board must take steps to ensure they are not advocating for a position on the issue. Any publications must avoid using phrases like "vote for," "support," "cast your ballot for," "vote against," "defeat," or "reject." Additionally, the district should only provide factual information about the issue, without opinions or conjecture. The factual information is not required to be balanced, and there is no requirement for the district to present facts supporting an opposing view.

• Section 57's prohibition doesn't apply to public officials expressing their own views, or to public officials or employees expressing personal views on their own time, using personal funds or volunteering personal services.

• In addition to any board actions, individual board members and staff have broad abilities to support ballot measures as long as they don’t use district resources. They can endorse as they see fit and include their title as part of that endorsement. Board members and employees may even wear shirts or campaign merchandise at school-related events outside of the instructional day, provided it does not violate district policies. Thus, while staff may act in individual capacities to support ballot questions, they may not engage in campaign activities that support ballot proposals while at work.

• In addition to providing endorsement on a personal level, board members and school employees may also write letters to the editor of local newspapers or express political views on personal blogs in support of the bond. But, while a board member may write an opinion letter to the newspaper, it cannot be on district letterhead, be written on a district provided computer, or even be written with a district provided pencil.

If you have questions on this issue or other legal matters, please contact MASB legal staff.