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[‘Checking the Record’ is a new recurring analysis column that checks the record on some of the claims made in Sudbury’s civic discourse.]
Free cash is a big topic of discussion right now, as the Town Manager’s Budget Working Group looks to identify ways to stave off an override in Fiscal Year 2028 (FY28). A recent post on social media in Sudbury used the free cash conversation as a launching-off point for historical commentary on Article 12 at the October 2023 Special Town Meeting.
But was the post history, or fiction?
The warrant article in question sought to add $232,380 to the Sudbury Public Schools (SPS) budget in the middle of the fiscal year, just months after voters passed an override for the district. The claim was that Chapter 70 state aid came in higher than expected, and SPS needed the money for unanticipated student needs.
The recent post on social media made the following claim about that warrant article, and what transpired at the Special Town Meeting in 2023:
The Claim
“The town management wasn’t interested in giving that option to the voters. The Select Board and town management were adamant that the extra funds should flow to Free Cash instead of to the schools. Luckily, the Superintendent and his team were able to mobilize support from the community and put an article in the Special Town Meeting for the fall of 2023 to increase the school budget and allow our students to benefit from the increase in State Aid. The Select Board was so adamant in their opposition that the Chair read a statement at Town Meeting criticizing the schools leaders.”
The Record
The Select Board did not oppose Article 12 at the October 2023 Special Town Meeting. The Board voted to support the article and announced their support for Article 12 on the floor of Special Town Meeting. Jump to 2:24:00 below.
You can also find their support position on Article 12 in the Town proceedings for 2023. Page 95 below:
If you don’t want to scroll through a PDF or watch a video, the Town has a page where you can just search for Town Meeting articles, and it will pull up all the details for you. That page is here. Note the “SB Position: Support” on the right. All three records are consistent: the Sudbury Select Board supported this article.
So right off the bat, the claim that the Select Board opposed the article is completely false. But that’s not the only false statement in the claim.
If Town management and the Select Board were “adamant” that the funds “should flow to free cash,” then why did the Select Board support the article? And wouldn’t there have to be a means of getting the money to flow to free cash? Here’s the catch: all of the State aid was going to SPS no matter how the vote went that October evening.
In 2025, Sudbury’s Assistant Town Manager and Finance Director responded to a series of questions about Chapter 70, including the following:
“When Chapter 70 aid for SPS comes in higher than estimated in the preliminary budget does all of it still go to the schools?Â
GAROFALO: Yes. All Chapter 70 funds go directly to the schools, even if the final state allocation exceeds the preliminary estimate used during budget development. When the final Chapter 70 amount is confirmed, it’s reflected on the Town’s Tax Recap Sheet. As a result, the Town does not need to raise that additional amount through taxation, which increases unused levy capacity and helps manage the tax impact for residents.”
All that happened after Article 12 passed in October 2023 is residents were taxed more than they would have been otherwise. The money was always going directly to SPS. The Finance Committee opposed the article and explained how this maneuver works during that Special Town Meeting. One simply way to think of it is as follows:
An Easy Example
Imagine an approved $10 SPS budget funded by $9 in local taxes and $1 in State aid. If the State unexpectedly increases its aid to $2, the local taxpayer burden would drop to $8.
However, if SPS requests to add that “unanticipated” extra dollar mid-year, the overall budget grows to $11. Taxpayers lose their $1 savings and are on the hook for $9.
Simply put, a mid-year motion to “raise and appropriate” these funds (which is the language in the article) means taxing residents to increase spending, rather than allowing the State aid to cover more of the existing budget, which would provide taxpayers some relief.
Finally, the claim says the Chair of the Select Board read a statement that criticized school leaders. It states “The Select Board was so adamant in their opposition that the Chair read a statement at Town Meeting criticizing the schools leaders.” That’s mostly false.
You can watch the full statement at 2:25:07 in the above video. The Finance Committee takes their position after the Select Board, and their comments explained what this Chapter 70 maneuver really was, and how it would impact taxpayers.
The Select Board’s statement in support of the article noted “When the override was being planned by SPS, the decision was made to use $300,000 of Circuit Breaker funds intended for special education to be used to offset the amount of the override. At that time, multiple Select Board members expressed concerns about the use of Circuit Breaker and whether or not the final override would adequately meet the longer-term needs of SPS.”
The statement also cites a lack of information from SPS before Special Town Meeting.
Raising concerns about how the budget was planned or communicated could fairly be interpreted as criticism, but within the context of the same sentence falsely claiming the Board opposed the article; the claim is mostly false.
Prior to that Special Town Meeting, SPS did not explain why the district needed more money. It wasn’t until then-Superintendent Brad Crozier presented the article at the Special Town Meeting that voters learned about the specific needs for the money. There was frustration in board and committee meetings leading up to the town meeting as a result. But when the Select Board addressed that information vacuum in their statement, they didn’t criticize SPS leadership, they completely let them off the hook:
“Throughout the time leading up to Town Meeting the Select Board would have preferred more clear answers on how the Chapter 70 funds would be used, however we recognize the timeline leading up to Town Meeting is compressed.”
Select Board Statement on STM 2023 Article 12, as read by Chair Janie Dretler
Here’s the full Select Board statement:
“The Select Board voted 4-1 in support of Article 12. First and foremost, we support our schools and their needs. We also greatly respect the work of the Finance Committee in reviewing this article. In arriving at the vote, the Select Board took into consideration the SPS budget override of $745,000 that passed at the ballot and the Annual Town Meeting this past spring. When the override was being planned by SPS, the decision was made to use $300,000 of Circuit Breaker funds intended for special education to be used to offset the amount of the override. At that time, multiple Select Board members expressed concerns about the use of Circuit Breaker and whether or not the final override would adequately meet the longer-term needs of SPS. Therefore we view the addition of the $232,000 in Chapter 70 funds above the approved SPS budget as a buffer for unanticipated needs and to mitigate risk created by use of Circuit Breaker Reserve. Throughout the time leading up to Town Meeting the Select Board would have preferred more clear answers on how the Chapter 70 funds would be used, however we recognize the timeline leading up to Town Meeting is compressed. We hope that the community will learn more this evening about the future use of the Chapter 70 funds. As we head into this fall, the Select Board looks forward to the town and SPS working closely together for the FY25 budget, with a comprehensive review of department needs throughout the town.”
The Verdict
The claim is almost entirely false. The bulk of it is completely false and the sentence characterizing the Select Board’s statement is mostly false.
To summarize:
- The Select Board supported Article 12 at the 2023 Special Town Meeting. It did not oppose it.
- All of the Chapter 70 State aid goes to the schools every year. It does not go to free cash, cannot go to free cash and did not go to free cash.
For further municipal finance resources, here is our Municipal Finance Cheat Sheet.
