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Turkey Trotting to Town Meeting
Welcome back!
You might have thought this was a short, quiet holiday week. But it was anything but that.
The Sudbury Public Schools administration presented a budget forecast on Monday that has the potential to upend financial planning across all three cost centers for years to come.
Meanwhile, we’re headed towards a Special Town Meeting on Monday that will vote on two school roof projects. Replacing roofs may not seem all that controversial on the surface, but those projects have been subjected to a relentless disinformation campaign for the last few weeks. That leaves Town staff in the unenviable position of:
Sorting out the SPS budget surprise
While scrambling to get the facts out about the roofs
All while facilitating a Special Town Meeting
And then a Special Election
Here’s a live action shot of what we assume the vibe is at the Flynn Building:
Happy Thanksgiving, indeed!
Here’s what we have for you this week:
Atkinson Pool On Track For December 1 Reopening
SPS Budget Forecast Shows $1.6M Shortfall in FY27, $2.5M in FY28
SPS Attorney Swats Down Deluge of OML Complaints
SPS Committee Votes On School Calendar Options
School Roof Debt Projected to Have Minimal Tax Impact – Despite Underinformed Proposals
Events
Opinion
Let’s get into it!
Atkinson Pool On Track For December 1 Reopening
NEWS
By Kevin LaHaise
The Atkinson Pool has been closed for renovations over the past few months, but it’s on track for an on-schedule reopening according to comments from Sudbury Health Director Vivian Zeng.
During the November 19 meeting of the Board of Health, Zeng informed the board that both pools have been filled, the pool was shocked, and they will soon work on balancing the water. The final inspection of the pool is scheduled for Tuesday, November 25. The pool is expected to reopen on Monday, December 1.
SPS Budget Forecast Shows $1.6M Shortfall in FY27, $2.5M in FY28
NEWS
By Kevin LaHaise
The Sudbury Public Schools (SPS) School Committee packet for their November 24 meeting included a budget forecast for the next three fiscal years. According to the forecast, SPS is facing a $1.6M shortfall in upcoming Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27). That estimated shortfall increases to $2.5M in FY28 and $2.8M in FY29.
SPS Attorney Swats Down Deluge of OML Complaints
NEWS
By Kevin LaHaise
The Sudbury Public Schools (SPS) School Committee established an LGBTQ+ Parent Advisory Council on October 6. Following that vote the committee’s efforts were lauded by the State, but criticized by a group of Sudbury residents who opposed the establishment of such a PAC.
Opponents organized on social media, raising their concerns about risks to federal funding, objecting to an estimated $3,000-$5,000 stipend that might be paid to an SPS staff liaison to the PAC, and lodging complaints about transparency and fairness. Opponents called on concerned residents to file Open Meeting Law complaints about the committee’s actions, and four such complaints were filed with the district.
The latest meeting packet from the SPS School Committee included the responses from legal counsel, as well as copies of all the complaints. (Page 7 and embedded below)
SPS Committee Votes On School Calendar Options
NEWS
By Kevin LaHaise
After months of deliberation about calendar changes, it looks like the SPS school calendar will be staying the same.
On Monday, November 24, the Sudbury Public Schools (SPS) School Committee voted to instruct the administration to develop a school calendar that included State and Federal holidays, while supplementing those holidays with “no school days” covering days that have low attendance. That effectively keeps the SPS calendar “as is,” preserving Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Good Friday, Christmas Eve and the Friday after Thanksgiving as “no school days” for the district. Members described it as a supplemented State and Federal calendar.
School Roof Debt Projected to Have Minimal Tax Impact – Despite Underinformed Proposals
NEWS
By Kevin LaHaise
Roofs Will Have an Average Net Cost Per Household of $30 Per Year with L-S Debt Closing Out
Two proposed school roof projects in Sudbury have been at the center of a debate about optimal funding sources for the projects. But the debate about the funding sources appears to have been rendered moot in the Monday, November 24 meeting of the Sudbury Finance Committee.
The Town of Sudbury administration has opted to pursue a debt exclusion. That’s a temporary tax increase to borrow for the portion of the project that isn’t reimbursed by the Massachusetts School Building Authority. However, a private resident has been lobbying boards and committees to consider dipping into free cash and the overlay surplus, then funding the remainder with in-levy debt, and theoretically avoiding a tax increase.
Those arguments were dismantled by Sudbury’s Assistant Town Manager and Finance Director, Victor Garofalo, during the November 24 meeting of the Sudbury Finance Committee.
Events
Opinion
Parting Thoughts
One of the great pleasures of living in Sudbury is the quiet on holidays like Thanksgiving. There’s a stillness that settles in, almost pausing time itself while you spend time with family and friends.
And yet we open next week fast and furious, with a Special Town Meeting on Monday night. Details here.
With two school roofs coming up for a vote on Monday, Sudbury residents will make a nearly $12 million decision. That’s one of the biggest Town Meeting/Special Election votes since the Fairbank Community Center and the acquisition of Camp Sewataro.
And yet the roofs have none of the allure of either of those projects. Roofs just aren’t exciting, even if they are incredibly important. Roofs are “eat your vegetables” investments, lacking the sugar rush of recreation facilities, sport courts and watering holes. (Apologies to any of you who think roofs are super exciting!)
With big, boring roofs headlining the Special Town Meeting, the big question ahead of Monday isn’t so much about the articles on the warrant. It seems to be “will Town Meeting reach a quorum?”
Onward!