The Newton Teachers Association has officially endorsed three candidates for school committee: Jenna Miara from Ward 5, Mali Brodt from Ward 6 and Jim Murphy from Ward 8.

And they’re not endorsing either mayoral candidate.

Why?

The union sent questionnaires to school committee candidates and mayoral candidates and shared their answers with all union members last week, Ryan Normandin, an officer in the NTA, said in announcing the picks. Candidates needed a two-thirds majority to get an endorsement. You can read all the candidates’ answers here.

“Jenna, Mali, and Jim all met the threshold necessary for an endorsement,” Normandin wrote. “In all other races, including the Mayoral race, more than two-thirds of respondents voted for “No Endorsement.”

With the school committee endorsements, Normandin emphasized that candidates Brodt, Miara and Murphy were picked based on their “straightforward, educationally sound answers to our questions.”

The three endorsees, he said, “unambiguously support” restoring those kindergarten aides who were the focus of a lawsuit this year, listen to students and teachers about what the schools need and “represent a clear break from the misinformed beliefs and chaotic practices now characterizing the Newton School Committee as it hops from crisis to crisis.”

“Jenna, Mali, and Jim have made clear that they want to advocate for students,” Normandin wrote. “They are independent candidates who bring sound experience and perspectives to the committee. They have expressed a genuine desire to communicate and collaborate with stakeholders in our schools. As the City’s educational experts, as your children’s teachers, we sincerely hope that the voters of Newton share our enthusiasm for the vision and leadership that Jenna, Mali and Jim are bringing forward.”

Normandin noted that Ward 2 School Committee Candidate Christine Fisher sent her questionnaire responses late so she wasn’t considered for an endorsement but her responses to the survey are online for voters to read.

And 10 candidates opted not to participate at all.

“Several cited a conflict of interest, yet have accepted an endorsement from a mayoral candidate,” Normandin continued, referring to Marc Laredo’s slate of endorsements announced a few weeks ago. “This is disappointing—School Committee members should be prepared to fight for what students need, and not for what a mayor wants.”

Newton’s election will be on Nov. 4.