Robert Sullivan withdraws from Middleboro School Committee race to focus on town financials

MIDDLEBORO — Middleboro School Committee candidate Robert Sullivan has withdrawn from the race to focus on his role on the Middleboro Finance Committee.

Now Sullivan has bowed out of the race, there will be six candidates vying for three, three-year term seats on the committee. Sullivan, a member of the Finance Committee, said as the town navigates possible multi-million budget discrepancies he needs to volunteer his time and effort into the town finances.

During a March 16 Select Board meeting, Select Board members asked Interim Town Manager Joseph Perkins to reconstruct the budget to find out the town’s exact financial status. 

Perkins reviewed the budget closely in an effort to find potential savings for the school department’s $2.2 million shortfall. But when he did, he said, he found the town budget faced a potential shortfall of millions of dollars. 

“I believe the most responsible decision for me at this time is to continue serving on the Finance Committee, where I can contribute directly to addressing these financial challenges and helping guide the town through this difficult budget process,” Sullivan wrote in a statement.

“I want to be clear with voters that I am no longer actively pursuing election to that position,” he added. “Instead, I will remain focused on my role on the Finance Committee in order to assist with this critical budgetary work.”