Sandwich School Committee Votes 6-0 to Admit Plymouth to Cape Cod Collaborative

SANDWICH — March 26, 2025 — Sandwich School Committee unanimously approved Plymouth Public Schools' admission to the Cape Cod Collaborative and renewed its food service contract with the Abbey Group at its March 26 meeting. The committee voted 6-0 to accept amended articles of agreement adding Plymouth as a full voting member of the collaborative, effective July 1, pending a state DESE deadline of April 1; Executive Director Dr. Hope Hanscom, who took over the collaborative's top post on January 21, attended in person and said the financial impact on Sandwich would be "close to a wash" because Plymouth had already been purchasing member-rate slots at Waypoint, the collaborative's special education day school. The board also voted 6-0 to authorize Superintendent Joe Maruszczyk to enter into a one-year food service contract with the Abbey Group — the district's incumbent vendor for approximately six years — after a scoring committee rated the Abbey Group above challenger Genuine Foods of Cambridge on both non-price and price criteria, including a materially higher guaranteed annual return to the district. Committee member Bert raised a formal objection during the superintendent's update after a legislative advocacy letter was sent over the chair's and superintendent's signatures "on behalf of the Sandwich School Committee" without a prior committee vote; Maruszczyk apologized and said the practice would not be repeated. Three freshman students — Prisha Bhajacharya, Holden Naughty, and Finnegan Hoctor — demonstrated an inventory management app that earned feedback from engineers at Athena Health and Liberty Mutual, as Assistant Superintendent Dr. Dave Quinn reported the district's career pathways program has secured over $200,000 in grant funding and seen computer science course enrollment more than quadruple in a single year.