Share This Article
During a September 28 Sudbury Public Schools (SPS) School Committee meeting that was rife with committee tension regarding topics spanning everything from goal setting to a superintendent search, one exchange stood out.
Acting Director of Business and Human Resources Buck Creel informed the committee that he had virtually zero access to any budget documents, records or documentation from prior years. “You need to understand that when I walked into the office and turned the computer on the documents file folder on my computer is empty. So I have a budget book that is in a PDF form. I don’t have any of the typical documents I would have in my old job that I would build on.”
Creel, who has filled the position while Don Sawyer is on leave, noted that even if he was working eight days a week, he may not be able to recreate the type of budget book the committee has seen in prior years.
Creel was also clear that he was working to deliver a Fiscal Year 2028 level service budget earlier than the district has typically provided such information during the budget building process. That adds to the workload in a busy time of year for budget planning. But the absence of prior budget documents loomed large in the virtual room.
Committee members promptly raised concerns:
Member Ellen Lederer-DeFrancesco added “So Don [Sawyer] left nothing? This is a question not even to Buck. So he left and we have no information because he’s out?”
Creel objected to that characterization, and explained that Sawyer had answered questions, but conceded that he (Creel) didn’t have a lot of information. “I’m just saying that all the stuff that you would expect to have lined up from the last three or four years worth of budget books is not there.”
Lederer-DeFrancesco later asked if they needed to take action to make sure this never happens again and added “I know when I worked in corporate America, if I got hit by a bus in New York City you can open up my stuff and the next person can take over the very next day.” She also asked if Sawyer would be returning.
Chair Jessica McCready interjected to reiterate that Sawyer is on medical leave and that they wouldn’t be discussing that topic in the meeting.
Vice Chair Betsy Sues described the situation as “a fair amount of succession risk” and noted she doesn’t think there’s any opportunity to present less information in this year’s budget book. “We are the stewards for this entire town’s children, all of their education. That’s a lot in our hands, and we just can’t go backwards on that budget book in transparency and in quality.”
The conversation ultimately ended with a clarification that the typical SPS budget book was the “target goal” for the administration, though there was no answer from the administration about if, or how, they would seek out the budget documents Creel described.
The exchange starts at 16:10 in the below video.
