Parents irked by pencil-pushing Walsh

Mayor Martin J. Walsh greeted thousands of Boston Public Schools students back to school yesterday with pencils with his name on them — a seemingly innocent act that some parents decried as an “election ploy.”

Mayoral candidate Tito Jackson slammed the pencils worth $8,000 as disingenuous given the budget cuts to 49 schools this year.

“The pictures with smiling kids don’t tell the shameful reality of Mayor Walsh’s inadequate education budgets. The cuts made every year to our schools only widen the gap between the haves and have nots. Those pencils should be turned into a pen and check for those schools.”

Typically, city and school officials greet students on the first day and Walsh has handed out pencils before.

Some parents said the gesture was inappropriate.

“It is totally inappropriate to use our kids,” said Ann DeGeorge, a parent at the Curley K-8 School. “It is unethical and an abuse of power. I don’t care who it is — that is not an avenue to campaign . ... It bothers me.”

“It’s definitely an election ploy,” said Kristin Johnson, a Mendell parent. “It makes me angry.”

Jason Tait, of the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance, said candidates can campaign on public property as long as all candidates have equal access. The Walsh campaign declined to comment.

STAFF PHOTO BY NANCY LANE WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL: Mayor Martin J. Walsh hams it up with students during his visit to the Washington Irving Middle School to greet students returning to school for the year and deliver Walsh-branded pencils.

STAFF PHOTO BY NANCY LANE READY TO LEARN: At top, a pencil with Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s name on it rests on a desk at the Blackstone Innovation School. Above, a Washington Irving Middle School student gives teacher Joan ‘MS Maz’ Mazares a hug.

STAFF PHOTO BY MATT WEST