A suburban Twin Cities teachers union ran afoul of Minnesota's campaign finance disclosure rules after failing to file timely reports of its spending in the run-up to the November school board election, a panel of administrative law judges found.
That's because Dakota County United Educators reported spending nearly $29,000 for postcards, flyers and lawn signs when it was billed for them instead of when it placed the order, according to a campaign violation report issued by the state Office of Administrative Hearings.
Union President Kate Schmidt did not respond to a request for comment.
The union, which represents teachers and school nurses who work in the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan district, submitted a list of expenditures in late October that left out the thousands of dollars the union agreed to pay for the campaign literature. The district is Minnesota's third largest.
Campaign finance records show the union reported $1,800 in expenses in its Oct. 26 report — $450 donations to each campaign of the four school board candidates it endorsed. But that report didn't include more than $36,000 in other expenses, including the printed material.
State law requires people and organizations to report disbursements within 10 days if they surpass $750 in expenses. The judges interpreted that to mean the disclosure law is triggered when a person or organization promises to pay for a service, not when they're billed for it.
"This promise falls within the definition of a disbursement and is, therefore, subject to reporting," the judges wrote.
Union officials filed two amended reports over the next week that detailed tens of thousands in costs for everything from lawn signs to postcards and newspaper ads. Education Minnesota, the statewide teachers union, had advised its Dakota County chapter to report those expenses when it was invoiced for them, according to the campaign violation report.
