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The Select Board will be discussing a Petition for a Special Town Meeting during its April 8 meeting. The late-breaking addition to the agenda is a petition from residents to call a Special Town Meeting. State law requires the Town to call a Special Town Meeting within 45 days of receipt of a valid petition with 200 certified signatures.
The petition includes language for an article to hold a vote of no confidence in the Sudbury Public Schools (SPS) School Committee.
The Select Board is expected to vote to call the Special Town Meeting and open the warrant during their meeting this evening. According to their agenda, the warrant will be open from April 9 until April 21.
Earlier this year, a Change.org petition used similar language, positioning itself as a “vote of no confidence” in four of the five elected members of the school committee.
While the online petition gained public attention in early March, the Annual Town Election occurred at the end of March. In that contest incumbent Julie Durgin-Sicree won the most votes of any candidate for SPS School Committee. Newcomer Ellen Lederer-DeFrancesco also won a seat. Write-in candidate Jonathan Sullivan fell 15 votes short of Lederer-DeFrancesco’s vote total.
The petition for a Special Town Meeting makes a series of allegations that are thematically similar to the Change.org petition, but does not offer evidence to support those allegations. Any such evidence could be presented with the article at a Special Town Meeting and is not required to be in the motion or the petitioner’s report.
The motion for the article, which is titled “Vote of No Confidence in the Sudbury School Committee,” states:
“That the Town of Sudbury hereby expresses its no confidence in the Sudbury School Committee. This vote is non-binding and serves as a formal expression of the will of Sudbury voters.
The actions of the current School Committee have demonstrated a pattern of conduct inconsistent with the standards of transparency, integrity, and ethical governance that Sudbury residents expect of their elected officials. Specifically, residents have raised serious concerns regarding the conduct of School Committee members in connection with an active procurement process, including potential violations of Massachusetts conflict of Interest law (M.G.L. c. 268A) and the Open Meeting Law; the improper use of executive session to conduct business that should be subject to public deliberation; and a pattern of conduct that has eroded public trust, destabilized district leadership, and placed the interests of individual Committee members above the educational welfare of Sudbury students.
The residents of Sudbury hold their public schools among their highest civic priorities. The current School Committee’s conduct places that priority at risk.”
Legal counsel for SPS has refuted that any Open Meeting Law (OML) violations have occurred in response to every complaint submitted in the second half of 2025 and all of 2026. Three of those complaints were elevated to the Attorney General’s (AG) office for formal determination after SPS counsel responded. All three are still pending review.
Several of the OML complaints were filed by SPS School Committee member Nicole Burnard. Only one of her complaints is listed as pending AG review.
The petition does not explain why the petitioners believe executive session was improperly utilized. Legal representation is typically involved in contract negotiations to ensure compliance with the relevant laws. One of the OML complaints filed by member Nicole Burnard alleged that the SPS attorney was involved in discussions leading up to the first executive session to discuss Superintendent Brad Crozier’s contract.
The State Ethics Commission has not issued any formal findings regarding any ethics complaints associated with SPS School Committee members. If a complaint was submitted, it remains confidential during initial review according to State Ethics Commission Enforcement Procedures.
The Select Board agenda and meeting packet, including a copy of the petition, is below.