Four school board candidates in Nashville who were backed by Stand for Children could face campaign fines of more than $70,000 each. The alleged violations are laid out in a letter from the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance, published by the Nashville Scene.

Stand for Children, which advocates for charter schools, donated to four candidates directly, which was all under the legal limits. A separate arm of the organization spent many times more on independent mailer campaigns, and that expenditure is also allowed.

But state regulators believe there was illegal coordination between the two.
A complaint filed by a Metro Schools parent and the group Tennessee Citizen Action cites news accounts that representatives
met with a candidate during a blackout period and
paid for door-to-door canvassers, which was not reported on the candidates’ filings. So the Registry of Election Finance is counting all of the money spent by Stand for Children as contributions to the candidates themselves — which far exceed the legal limit.

Candidates Miranda Christy, Thom Druffel, Jackson Miller and Jane Grimes Meneely, who all lost their races, will be able to defend themselves at a hearing Oct. 12. An attorney with Stand for Children says the group looks forward to “presenting all the facts.”

“Stand meticulously followed the law and takes all ethical obligations seriously,” attorney Stephen Zralek said.

The Registry of Election Finance has total discretion over whether to reduce the fines or waive them altogether.