Finance Committee backs $11.8M in school roof borrowing, rejects walkway petition

SUDBURY -- November 17, 2025, Sudbury Finance Committee backs $11.8M in school roof borrowing, rejects 10-year walkway petition. The committee voted 8-0 to recommend approval of both the Haynes Elementary ($7.8M total, $4.7M net of MSBA) and Nixon Elementary ($4.1M total, $2.4M net) roof replacements at its Nov. 17 meeting, with the projects qualifying for 41.32 percent MSBA reimbursement. Combined Facilities Director Sandra Duran attributed a near-doubling of the Haynes estimate since the spring to a prior estimator's error she "carried through." Finance Director Victor Garofalo said retiring Lincoln-Sudbury debt of roughly $428,000 will substantially offset new debt service of approximately $519,000 annually, with average household impact around $90 a year before offset. The committee voted 0-9 against Article 9, a citizens petition from Ralph Tyler seeking $1.18M annually for 10 years for walkways; Co-Chair Michael Joachim called the underlying project worthy but the financing "a really bad way to allocate our capital funds." Votes on three solar canopy articles were deferred to Nov. 24.