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The Office of Campaign and Political Finance found Norwell School Committee resources were used to mail letters about a May override ballot.South Shore Times

OCPF: Norwell schools misused funds in override mailing

State finance office finds $954 in public resources used to send letter on May ballot question

Published on:

24 Sep 2025, 10:39 pm

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NORWELL – The Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) has determined that the Norwell School Committee used $954.30 in public resources to distribute a letter about a May 2025 ballot question. OCPF is an independent agency charged with overseeing compliance with the campaign finance laws in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The ballot asked voters to approve a Proposition 2½ override for town services. A complaint submitted to OCPF alleged that public funds, staff time, and supplies were improperly used to support the measure. According to the OCPF website, the identities of individuals submitting complaints are kept confidential.

According to OCPF, Norwell Public Schools staff time and resources were used to prepare a letter describing the override and its potential impact on schools. School Committee funds were then used to mail the letter to about 3,800 households.

OCPF found that while compiling the materials was permissible under campaign finance laws, distributing them with public resources was not consistent with Massachusetts campaign finance law. The Norwell Town Treasurer later filed a disclosure form reporting $954.30 in expenditures. OCPF noted that Superintendent Matthew Keegan and School Committee Chair Kristin McEachern cooperated fully with this review.

In a statement to the South Shore Times, Superintendent Keegan noted that this year the standard letter the School Committee sends to all Norwell voters in advance of annual town meetings explaining the school’s budget requests differed from previous years due to the override and need to explain two potential budget outcomes.

Keegan remarked, “While we fully believe our letter was neutral and informational, we now understand that the inclusion of Town Meeting and potential election information was in conflict with the case that was cited. Once we were informed of this error, we took the immediate remedial action requested by OCPF. Maintaining compliance with all state and federal laws and regulations remains a top priority of the Norwell Public Schools.”

OCPF has closed the review and will take no further action.