A church in Carlsbad has sought the return of two $950 donations it made weeks ago to two school board candidates, despite federal rules that prohibit tax-exempt organizations such as churches from financially supporting or speaking in support of any candidate for public office.

Mission Church Pastor David Menard also urged his congregation to donate to two Carlsbad United candidates, Jen Belnap and Laura Siaosi, during a sermon last month.

When the San Diego Union-Tribune asked about the donations in light of the Internal Revenue Service’s tax-exempt rules, Menard said in an email Thursday that the donations were made in error and that the church was requesting a refund.

“To support our community, we recently contributed to the campaigns of two Carlsbad school board candidates. “After doing this, we realized we were outside the IRS guidelines for a 501(c)(3),” he said.

Belnap said in an email Friday that he learned Thursday that the church’s donation was illegal and the treasurer returned it. Siaosi said the church’s donation was “a nice gesture of support,” but he returned it when he learned it was inappropriate.

Mission Church, registered as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization under the name Ezra Ministries, donated $1,900 on Oct. 15, according to county campaign finance records.

IRS rules They say tax-exempt organizations, including churches and religious nonprofits, are “strictly prohibited” from donating to or publicly voicing support for a political campaign.

The IRS adds that financial contributions to any candidate for public office, as well as oral or written public statements of position, “clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activities.”

When asked why the church donated to Belnap and Siaosi, Menard wrote: “Mission Church loves our city and our schools.”

Menard had previously explained his support for Belnap and Siaosi in more detail.

One 13 October sermonHe devised a plan for his church to take back the majority of the five-member school board from candidates backed by the teachers’ union. The new board will soon need to appoint a new superintendent to replace Benjamin Churchill. who is going for Poway Unified this December.

Menard said the church already has the support of Gretchen Vurbeff, a board member, so adding two more would create the majority the church supports.

He called the LGBTQ community “the opposition” and suggested they were responsible for bringing the current union-backed majority to the board.

“The opposition LGBTQ community discovered the importance of having the right people on the school board long before we did,” Menard said.

He told his congregation it was important to bring “the right values” back to schools.

“We need to focus on the truth and focus on getting our kids back to science, math and the core core subjects, not bombarding them with life-destroying ideologies,” Menard said.

Menard also urged his congregation to donate to and vote for Belnap and Siaosi’s campaigns.

“I ask you to support them both with your votes and financially,” he said. He added that the Mission Church financially supports Belnap and Siaosi “peripherally.”

Belnap and Siaosi also spoke during the sermon. Belnap, a Carlsbad High School parent, said he is running to prevent the board from having four or five trustees approved by the teachers union.

“I’m running to provide a different perspective on that board,” he said. “I am also running to ensure that we honor and respect the sacred role of family and the family unit in our society.”

Siaosi, who is also a Carlsbad High School parent and whose husband is a volunteer coach, compared the school board race to a battle between good and evil.

“I never actually thought I would be politically active, but we are coming to times when good men and women must stand by and do nothing for evil to prevail, and I can do nothing,” he said.

The Mission Church, which Menard founded in 2011, made headlines last year. mobilized opposition to the school district diversity, equity and inclusion plan crafted under Churchill. The board approved the plan.

Opponents of Belnap and Siaosi, Ejehan Türker and Alison Emery, said they were surprised to learn that the duo had received donations from the church.

Turker, a parent running against Siaosi, said he thought Siaosi and Belnap’s choice to accept donations was unethical and indicative of how they would serve on the school board.

“If elected into office, how far will they push the line to advance their own political agenda?” Turker said the following.

Siaosi said his critics used the church donation “to continue their relentless attack on my character.”

“I find it disturbing that the people who allegedly fight for diversity, equity and inclusion in Carlsbad see no hypocrisy in their attacks on people of faith,” he said.

If elected, Turker and Emery said they aim to be a “stabilizing presence” on the board to prevent groups from creating “chaos” at school board meetings to advance their own political “ideologies.”

They said they were concerned about the Mission Church meddling in their opponents’ campaigns because they saw the church trying to advance a religious agenda in public schools and “sowing division” in the area. They said schools should make sure all students feel safe, supported and included, and that the church’s goals run counter to that.

“I just want to bring calm to the chaos, tone down the tone and the rhetoric, bring it back to educational philosophies and best teaching practices,” said Emery, a Carlsbad parent and Solana Beach teacher who also serves on the Solana Beach teachers union. bargaining team.

Both Turker and Emery are backed by the Carlsbad teachers union.

First Publication Date: November 2, 2024, 05:00 PDT