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On Tuesday, January 28, the Sudbury Select Board voted 4-1 to submit a non-binding vocational education article to the Annual Town Meeting warrant, contingent on further information being added to the report. The article would provide Town Meeting the opportunity to demonstrate its support for Sudbury to join a vocational education district, but would not be binding. Town Manager Andy Sheehan called it a “sense of the meeting” article. (1:02:00)

The idea for the article was the product of a conversation between Town Manager Andy Sheehan and Select Board member Lisa Kouchakdjian, but the issue traces back almost a decade.
Withdrawal from Minuteman
The Town of Sudbury voted to leave the Minuteman district in 2016. At the time, the Select Board cited high costs and a lack of faith in the management of the district.
Following the withdrawal, the Town did not seriously pursue membership in another vocational education school district. Over time, and as demand for vocational education has surged, Sudbury families have cited difficulty getting their children into a vocational school. Out-of-district applicants get in line behind applicants from in-district towns, and there often isn’t space available for students from non-member towns.
The problem appears to be that the schools and the school buildings don’t have the capacity to meet the demand. In 2024, the Boston Globe reported that “20,583 rising 9th-graders applied for 10,321 available seats.” That’s bad news for many students on waitlists, as a major investment and major construction projects would likely be required to double the State’s vocational education capacity. It’s also bad news for Sudbury – as the path back into a vocational school district is narrower than anytime in recent memory.
Deliberation
The Select Board has made it a high priority goal to “seek membership in a vocational education district” this year. At the instruction of the Board, Member Kouchakdjian met with a representative of the Minuteman school district to gauge if a Town Meeting article (like the one being considered by the Select Board) would be helpful in the Town’s effort to get back into a district. That representative said it would be, if properly worded.
The article in consideration was also discussed at an earlier Select Board meeting on January 14. At the time, Town Manager Sheehan introduced the concept and shared a draft he had written to give the board something to work with during their meeting. (2:14:30)
On Tuesday, Vice Chair Dan Carty and member Charlie Russo were critical of the article and the concept. They wanted more information such as the estimated cost of joining a district, a count of the number of students currently affected, information about the quality of the education at multiple schools, and details on the process of rejoining.
Member Russo called Sheehan’s draft unprofessional, a “disservice to residents” and a “disservice to the Board.” (1:37:49) In the end, Vice Chair Carty was the lone “no” vote. Member Russo indicated he would be abstaining until Chair Jennifer Roberts made a new motion that made the submission contingent on the addition of further information and context to the report section. Russo ultimately voted in favor. (1:41:30)
Uncertain Future
It remains unclear what may happen to the article on the road to Town Meeting because the vote was contingent on further action and information gathering. Member Russo expressed a desire to indefinitely postpone the article if the added details are unsatisfactory. Deliberation has also been tense both times the article has been discussed by the board.
More practical matters could also sink the article. It’s unclear if it’s even possible for the Board to gather the information that some members want from multiple districts. A vocational district would have to determine that it has space available in the future before it would determine a price or initiate a process for a new member Town to join. Apportionment terms in regional agreements may outline the manner in which they will calculate apportionment for new members, but the actual cost will depend on the finances of the district, including capital and debt, at the time of adding a new member.
Finally, if the Select Board remains divided on the article, it may be a risk to put the article before Town Meeting, as it could fail and unintentionally harm Sudbury’s chances of getting back into a vocational school district. The board discussed that risk on Tuesday. Even a passing vote could send the wrong message. Sudbury uses clickers to vote at Town Meetings, so a slim majority may not be enough to send an enthusiastic message of support to vocational schools.
At a time when demand for vocational education is vastly outpacing supply, Sudbury appears to have a long and bumpy road ahead.