Conduct by school board members and other elected officials in Franklin County has prompted two residents to file a complaint with the county and state Board of Elections, according to this report in the Franklin Times.
The county is pursuing a $53 million school bond that will appear on the May 6 ballot. Officials used up to $12,000 in public funds to hire an advertising firm to educate voters on why the bonds are necessary. But in the complaint, Tony Efird and David Kearney claim the county has stepped over the line:
We strongly believe that the actions of the Franklin County Board of Commissioners and the Franklin County Board of Education in advocating for the passage of the school bond referendum are in violation of state election law. Their actions represent a continuing disregard for the citizens and the willingness to use taxpayers [sic] dollars to lobby the public for a tax increase.
Maybe the complaint was partly prompted by the $325 the county paid its private consultant to write a letter to the editor pushing the bond referendum.
