Vote Dec. 16 in Special Town Election To Replace School Roofs

A special town election to exempt the cost of borrowing funds for replacing and repairing the roofs at Haynes and Nixon elementary schools from the Proposition 2 ½ limit will be held Tuesday, Dec. 16.

The warrant articles to fund those two projects were approved at the Dec. 1 special town meeting, but they must also be voted on in a townwide election.

A specimen ballot is available here, showing the two ballot questions. A special town election warrant giving the pro and con arguments for the two questions was included in the special town meeting warrant and is posted here.

The costs of the projects were detailed at town meeting. The total cost for the Haynes roof is $7,821,563, and for the Nixon roof, $4,064,845. If the projects are also approved in the Dec. 16 election, the town expects the Massachusetts School Building Authority to cover 41% of that cost. 

At the town meeting, Victor Garofalo, assistant town manager and finance director, said the tax impact of the two projects would be about $90 per year on a $1.1 million home. But about $50 per home is coming off the books as the cost of building Lincoln-Sudbury high school ends, so the net cost will be about $30 a year to the average taxpayer for the next 20 years.

Voters in all six Sudbury precincts vote at the Fairbank Community Center, 40 Fairbank Rd. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. There is no in-person early voting for this election.

The last day to request a mail ballot for this election is Tuesday, Dec. 9, but the League recommends requesting the ballot as soon as possible to allow time to receive and return it.  

Voters who submitted a request for mail ballots for all elections in 2025 do not have to apply again. Mail ballots have been sent automatically to those voters. If you need to apply, an online application is available at www.VoteInMA.com. Paper applications are available from the Town Clerk’s Office in Town Hall, 322 Concord Rd. Completed, signed applications should be mailed, or scanned and sent by email, or faxed to the Town Clerk’s Office. Additional information is available here. You can check the status of your mail ballot at www.VoteInMA.com. 

Completed mail ballots must be returned by mail, hand-delivered to the Town Clerk’s office, or deposited in the ballot drop box behind Town Hall, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Mail ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day and cannot be returned to the Fairbank Community Center polling place.