Teacher unions want charter supporter axed

The Massachusetts Teachers Association and other pro-public school groups are calling for Gov. Charlie Baker to fire Paul Sagan as chairman of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education because he made a half-a-million dollar donation to a group backing the Yes on 2 campaign to expand charter schools last year.

Sagan, appointed by Baker, donated $496,000 to Families for Excellent Schools, a New York group that poured $15 million into last November’s failed pro-charter school ballot question campaign. Under a settlement with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance, the group is required to pay $426,000 for breaking campaign finance laws for failing to disclose its donors. The group had funneled its funds to the Great Schools Massachusetts Ballot Question Committee.

The Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance — made up of the MTA, American Federation of Teachers-Massachusetts, the Boston Teachers Union, the Boston Student Advisory Council, Citizens for Public Schools, and other public school advocates — is circulating an online petition calling for Sagan’s removal. The teachers unions largely donated to the No on 2 campaign to keep the cap on charters.

“He has shown in his hidden contribution to Yes on 2 that he doesn’t understand the obligation of public service relative to transparency,” MTA President Barbara Madeloni said. “It is absolutely stunning. This is a person who oversees charter schools.”

Sagan responded in a statement: “I am a dedicated supporter of all of our public schools, and I made a personal contribution to Families for Excellent Schools Advocacy last year in good faith and to support charter public schools as additional high-quality school options. I trusted the organizations I supported to handle their fundraising and disclosures appropriately.”