A mysterious local political action committee has been attacking School Committee candidates, ruffling feathers and throwing a little chaos into an already bizarre campaign season. And one of the people orchestrating it has no intention of slowing down.

Kids First Newton—a group that formed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic by parents who wanted remote learning to end sooner than it did—has been sending emails, making robocalls and running Facebook ads during this year’s local election cycle, attacking School Committee candidates who have been endorsed by the Newton Teachers Association.

A few weeks ago, the NTA endorsed Ward 4 candidate Jenna Miara, Ward 6 candidate Mali Brodt and Ward 8 candidate Jim Murphy.

Then, Kids First Newton—last heard from in the battle over COVID-19 protocols—emerged with emails and ads, alongside a group that calls itself Newton Needs Change.

In one ad, the group attacks Miara for supporting the strike in 2024 and then saying “no comment” on a questionnaire this summer about having supported the strike.

But Kids First Newton misrepresents The Newton Beacon’s question, stating that the Beacon asked if candidates “supported the illegal strike,” but the Newton Beacon survey did not use descriptive words like “illegal” to describe the strike or anything else. And Miara explains the nuance of her answer in the comment space under the question on the questionnaire.

It should be noted that on the Beacon questionnaire, “no position” was the only option other than “yes” or “no,” and a lot of the candidates reached out with concerns that a “yes” or “no” answer to that (and the Proposition 2 ½ override question) left no room for nuance.

Some of the online attacks claim Miara deleted Facebook posts she’d made in support of the strike. But at last weekend’s Harvest Fair, Miara said she’s made her personal Facebook page private because she’s now running for office and has her personal life and photos of her family on there.

So who’s behind Kids First Newton?

The Facebook ad data lists a phone number with the email address info@kidsfirstnewton.com. The phone number has a computerized voicemail recording, with no information on who is in the group and what they’re doing in this election.

The address listed by the Facebook ad is 255 Adams St. in Nonantum, and public records list that address as being owned by a man named Kevin Burke. The Facebook ad phone number, according to a reverse number search, belongs to Fran Yerardi.

“I was there from the start when it wasn’t a slogan but a desperate fight by parents watching our kids fall through the cracks while the schools shut down and the system failed them during COVID,” Yerardi said. “Out of that chaos came a movement of parents who refused to be silenced. It grew stronger with the union’s illegal strike, which devastated families across Newton. Now, with union leadership openly trying to take over the School Committee, more families are standing up and demanding leaders who put kids before politics. That’s why we formalized Kids First Newton this year as a nonprofit to give those families a real voice.”

Yerardi noted that the Kids First Newton website has seen more than 1,200 new visits in the past few days alone—he even sent a chart—and he calls complaints “nothing more than political theater.”

“The union insiders who looked the other way during the strike are now panicking because Kids First Newton is exposing the truth and parents are paying attention,” he said. “We had over 1,200 new website visits in the last few days alone (see attached). The same union loyalists who failed our kids are now clutching their pearls because a fifth-grade girl dared to say out loud what everyone already knows: our schools have lost their way.”

Is it legal?

Campaign finance law compliance is overseen by the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance, and candidates and PACs must file with the city.

Neither the city’s Law Department nor city clerk responded to a request for comment. But Mayor Ruthanne Fuller emphasized that last point.

“Political Action Committees in Massachusetts formed to support or oppose School Committee candidates are required to organize and file campaign finance reports with their town or City Clerk’s Office,” Fuller said on Friday. “As of today, the Newton City Clerk has not received any filings from Kids First Newton Inc. and is taking steps to notify the group that it may be required to complete applicable filings and reporting in order to comply with the Campaign Finance Law.”

Newton’s election is set for Nov. 4.