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Boston Globe

MTA-backed campaign behind MCAS question did not disclose $2.4 million in contributions until Election Day, breaking state law

Voters But in making its pitch, state regulators said, the campaign behind it did not publicly disclose some $2.37 million when it was supposed to under state law. Advertisement The so-called Yes on 2 campaign, for example, took $800,000 in donations from a variety of teacher labor groups, including $500,000 from the National Education Association and $50,000 from the Boston Teachers Union PAC on Oct. 21. But the campaign didn't publicly disclose those contributions, and others, until Nov. 5, Election Day itself. State law dictates that, in a two-week span ahead of Election Day, ballot question committees are required to disclose any contributions within 72 hours of receiving them. That means the campaign should have publicly filed notice of the donations nearly two weeks earlier on Oct. 24. Advertisement The MTA also poured in nearly $1.6 million in so-called in-kind contributions on Nov. 1, most of it to cover advertising costs. Those contributions also didn't show up in public reports until Election Day, according to OCPF. The campaign instead should have filed so-called late contribution reports to disclose those and the other contributions, state regulators said. That lag may appear small, but the days ahead of Election Day typically are the most intense stretch for campaign spending as more casual voters begin weighing their choices, and others are hustling to The group's 'failure to file the required late contribution reports frustrated the public's interest in accurate and timely disclosure of campaign finance activity,' William Campbell, OCPF's director, wrote in a June 24 letter to the campaign. The Committee for High Standards Not High Stakes Max Page, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. A spokesperson for the union also didn't immediately respond to messages. The ballot question was among the intensely fought state campaigns last fall. It pitted them against some Congressional Democrats, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, and the MTA, which argued that requiring high schoolers to pass the MCAS unfairly penalized students with disabilities or who are not fluent in English. Advertisement In wake of November's vote, the state has embraced a The changes, which the state education board Graduation requirements for the class of 2025 were left up to individual districts, and Healey has Advertisement The slate of temporary measures, however, has not settled the ongoing debate about what the state should require of its students. Some groups, such as the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, argued the interim regulations are not rigorous enough, the Globe has reported, while the MTA took issue with them allowing some students to still graduate by passing the state test. Matt Stout can be reached at