Lincoln, Sudbury boards launch joint review of 37-year-old regional school agreement

LINCOLN — March 8, 2021 — Lincoln and Sudbury select boards open joint talks to rewrite 37-year-old regional high school agreement. Sudbury Chair Janie Drettler and member Dan Carty led the push, telling Lincoln counterparts the existing pact predates the current high school building, both towns' Minuteman Regional membership and withdrawal, and Sudbury's shift to a town-manager government. Carty flagged three defects: no periodic-review mechanism, an outdated vocational-education and transportation regime, and a budget timeline misaligned with both town calendars. "We don't want another 37 years to go by," he said. Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee members Carol Casper and Ellen Meyer said pandemic operations have left the regional committee with little bandwidth before fall. The boards agreed to target a three-way joint meeting in the fall to formally launch a Regional Agreement Amendment Committee. Separately, the Lincoln board voted 3-0 to open the May 15 Annual Town Meeting warrant and sign the March 29 election warrant.