School Committee Candidate Pacey Alleges Safety Violations, Catered Dinner Spending

SHREWSBURY — May 1, 2026 — School Committee candidate Mike Pacey made a case for transparency and fiscal scrutiny at a May 1 candidate forum hosted by Shrewsbury Media Connections, ahead of the May 5 election. Pacey, a corporate finance professional with over 30 years of experience managing budgets exceeding $2.4 billion, alleged that the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education assessed two anti-bullying law violations against Shrewsbury Public Schools and that district leadership never disclosed those findings to the community. He said the district's bullying prevention policy went unupdated for six years and that a state-mandated teen dating violence policy required since 2010 was only recently adopted. Citing public records requests, Pacey identified roughly $5.2 million in administrative salaries and benefits across approximately 26 staff and alleged thousands of dollars in annual spending on privately catered administrative dinners at the Cellar Bar and Grill — spending he pledged to end. He expressed support for Superintendent Tiffy Ostrand and said the town's looming override and high school expansion decisions demand more openness than current committee members have shown.