School Committee Candidate Alleges District Hid Two State Compliance Violations

SHREWSBURY — April 21, 2026 — A Shrewsbury School Committee candidate publicly alleged the district concealed two state compliance findings on a community-access television program two weeks before a local election. Mike Pacey, appearing on "The Unselects" alongside hosts Greg Richards and Brian Costello, said he and his wife filed two Department of Elementary and Secondary Education complaints against Shrewsbury Public Schools in 2024 — one finding the district failed to promptly investigate a bullying complaint involving his daughter on the varsity girls soccer team, in violation of Massachusetts General Law Chapter 71, Section 37O, and a second finding the district had no teen dating violence policy for 14 years after a 2010 state mandate required one. Pacey said Superintendent Joseph Sawyer, Principal Todd Bozillo, Athletic Director Jason Koster, and Assistant Principal Najah Nguyen were all aware of the findings and that no one from the school committee or administration offered his family an apology or explanation. A community survey tied to Sawyer's performance review drew 945 responses, with roughly 92 percent rating Sawyer's leadership as not effective; Pacey said the committee dismissed those results as an effort to skew the survey rather than addressing the underlying concerns. Sawyer has since announced his retirement, with Tiffany Ostrander named as his successor.