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I am the current Chair of the Sudbury Select Board and the opinions expressed in this article are my own and should not be attributed to any other member of the Select Board. The Select Board has voted to support Article 13.
The Town of Sudbury’s relationship with Minuteman Vocational Technical High School (Minuteman) began in 1970. It was home for the students and families who attended. All that changed by a vote of our community at a Special Town Meeting on February 9, 2016. Special Town Meeting voted to leave Minuteman. Since that time, our students and families have been without a vocational education home.
No one could have predicted the dramatic increase in interest and desire for vocational education over the next several years. No one expected there would be so few seats available to non-member students.
At the time the Town moved away from Minuteman it was the Board of Selectmen’s desire to become a member of a vocational education district. It just never happened. Vocational education and investigating options for membership has been a high priority goal for the current Select Board. I have been incredibly impressed with the Select Board’s dedication and commitment to this work. The Board has stayed in consistent contact with the four major vocational education schools in closest proximity to Sudbury: Keefe Regional Technical School in Framingham, Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School in Marlborough, Nashoba Valley Technical High School in Westford and Minuteman High School in Lexington. All of these schools are excellent. I have visited each one of them and spoken with the wonderful administrators that run the schools. So far, the only school that has suggested possible membership is Minuteman.
To demonstrate our collective commitment to vocational education in Sudbury, the Select Board, with the support of our Town Manager, is offering an article at Annual Town Meeting on May 4th to establish a stabilization fund to dedicate funds and save money for the buy-in costs to become a member again of a vocational education school. The money could be used to re-join any vocational education school, not just Minuteman. Although we do not know yet the exact amount of the buy-in costs, the Town of Sudbury is in discussions with administrators at Minuteman to better understand those costs.
Why passage of Article 13 is important:
- To demonstrate our commitment as a community to vocational education
- To build trust again with member communities of vocational schools
- To save money for when the opportunity arises to re-join as a member
- To support the academic, vocational and social/emotional goals of All students
In the Select Board’s recent communications with Minuteman, administrators have specifically stated how impressed they are with Sudbury’s efforts to seek membership by offering this article at our Annual Town Meeting. Administrators of Minuteman have told us there are two other towns, in addition to Sudbury, seeking membership at Minuteman. Sudbury is the only community taking these steps. Passage of Article 13 will send a clear message that investment in vocational education in Sudbury is a top priority for our community.
Although last year seven students were admitted to Minuteman and this year, as of the writing of this article, seven students have applied, but not yet admitted, our students are not guaranteed admission to Minuteman because we are not a member. The only way moving forward that our students will be guaranteed admission is if we become a member. As wonderful as Lincoln Sudbury Regional High School is, some student’s needs are best served in a vocational education setting.
I also would like to acknowledge our staff at Curtis Middle School who have been working hard to support students seeking vocational education. It has not been easy for them to navigate the waters of uncertainty and to answer the difficult questions from families. Passage and support of Article 13 will benefit our teachers and staff working hard on the ground to support our students.
We need to make sure our students and families have a vocational education home in the future. The only way we can do that is if we earn membership. Come to Annual Town Meeting on May 4th to support Article 13 and help to move our relationship with vocational education forward!