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Sudbury is a strong and vibrant community—and like any town, it benefits from steady, thoughtful leadership to help it thrive. As we continue to invest in long-term planning, fiscal responsibility, and community engagement, it’s important to have leaders who build trust, work collaboratively, and deliver results.
That’s the kind of leadership I’ve brought over nearly 12 years on the Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee. And it’s the kind of leadership I’m ready to bring to the Sudbury Select Board.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been sharing a series of articles titled Real Leadership, Real Results. Each piece highlights specific accomplishments from my time on the School Committee—and how those experiences have prepared me to serve Sudbury with transparency, accountability, and purpose.
• In Part 1, I shared how I led key infrastructure projects, including technology upgrades, the solar canopy, and the completion of the LS Softball Field.
• In Part 2, I focused on financial stewardship—helping stabilize the school’s finances and build reserve funds that provided critical flexibility.
• Now, in Part 3, I’m highlighting my efforts to improve transparency and foster collaboration—because good governance depends on both.
Bringing the School Committee Online
When I joined the L-S School Committee in 2007, its “website” consisted of a single page listing member names. Meeting agendas were posted behind a glass window at the school and at town clerk offices. Budget books were available only in hard copy at the L-S office and in the town libraries.
It may be hard to believe, but this was the state of things in 2007.
Then the Great Recession hit. Public interest in school finances and governance surged, but the information remained hard to access. I saw a need—and took action. I taught myself basic HTML, built a mock website, and with the Committee’s support, launched the first-ever L-S School Committee website.
I also began emailing meeting agendas and updates to the public. Over time, I expanded the website to include, but not limited to:
• Budget presentations and capital requests
• Actuarial reports, including those that led to the creation of the OPEB trust fund
• Departmental presentations
• Links to Massachusetts Department of Education and Secondary Education resources
I maintained the website for seven years—until the district had the internal capacity to take it over. The site wasn’t flashy—but it made vital information easy to find, and that’s what mattered. Because when you see a need, you do the work. That’s leadership.
Collaboration Across Districts
I also initiated the first-ever collaboration between the Sudbury, Lincoln, and L-S School Committees—helping launch tri-district meetings that are still ongoing today. These gatherings created space for open communication and shared planning across all three school systems.
At our very first meeting, we focused on adolescent sleep research and began exploring a later high school start time. That initial conversation helped spark a change that’s now part of everyday life for L-S students.
4th Tri-district school committee meeting agenda, which shows the topics from the first three meetings at the end:
190311 TriDistrictSCMeetingAgenda_20190311.pdf
Building Structures That Last
In my final months on the School Committee—as Chair—I led the creation of several new subcommittees including the following to address critical long-term needs:
• Policy
• Start Time
• Strategic Planning
These groups helped move important issues forward and continued their work successfully after I stepped down. To support their momentum, I wrote detailed transition memos to ensure smooth handoffs and sustained progress.
Sharing Knowledge That Matters
Just weeks before my term ended in 2019, I gave a public seminar on regional school finance to the Lincoln and Sudbury Select Boards and Finance Committees. I condensed more than a decade of experience into one two-hour session—sharing insights to help current and future leaders better understand regional school governance and funding.
It is available on Sudbury TV as a useful and valuable resource to leaders and the community.
Why does this matter?
Because transparency isn’t just a value. Transparency only happens when people do the work to create transparency.
Because good leadership also doesn’t just do the work—it shares the knowledge, so others can build on it.
Sudbury deserves leaders who are ready to step up—quietly, steadily, and with focus. Leaders who listen, collaborate, and follow through. That’s what I’ve always done—and that’s what I’ll continue to do.
I’m ready to bring my experience, commitment, and work ethic to the Select Board.
If you believe in thoughtful, proven leadership—and a strong future for Sudbury—I’d be honored to have your vote.
Please vote for Radha Gargeya for Sudbury Select Board on Monday, March 31. Don’t forget—all in-person voting in Sudbury now happens at the Fairbank Community Center in the Fairbank Gym. Polls Open: 7 AM to 8 PM.