Town Edition
Barnstable County
Sandwich, Massachusetts
Photo: John Phelan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The multi-purpose courts at Sandwich Middle High School had worn out, and a resident told Town Meeting that varsity games could no longer be held on them. On the night of May 4, 2026, in the auditorium of that same school, 553 registered voters signed in at the door and voted 377 to 78 to spend $755,300 rebuilding them. Those 553 people decided a great deal more before they went home. They also passed the entire $102,547,537 town budget for the coming year, 285 to 172, which is a margin of 113 votes. Nobody appointed them and nobody drafted them. In Sandwich the legislature is whoever walks in, and this guide shows you where the room is and how to take your seat in it.
Sandwich at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Barnstable. Sandwich covers 42.9 square miles of land in the northwest corner of Cape Cod, about 473 people to the square mile, and its mail arrives under three names: Sandwich 02563, East Sandwich 02537 and Forestdale 02644.
- Government: open Town Meeting, with an elected five-member Select Board and an appointed Town Manager, George H. “Bud” Dunham.
- Schools: Sandwich Public Schools, about 2,081 students across three schools, led by Superintendent Dr. Joseph P. Maruszczak, Ed.D.
How Sandwich’s Government Works
Sandwich runs on an open Town Meeting, which means there are no elected Town Meeting members at all: every registered voter in Sandwich is a member, and any of them can walk in, speak, and vote on the budget. Voters also elect a 5 member Select Board to set policy between meetings and the School Committee that oversees the schools. The Select Board hires a professional Town Manager to run the town day to day. So the money is voted by whoever shows up, the direction is set by the Select Board, and the daily work is carried out by the Town Manager.
Town Meeting
The legislative body, and it is not a committee. Every registered voter in Sandwich is a member. Town Meeting adopts the annual budget, passes town bylaws, and approves major spending. This is direct democracy in its literal sense.
Select Board
5 members elected town-wide. They set policy, sign the warrants that decide what reaches Town Meeting, appoint residents to many town boards, and hire and supervise the Town Manager.
Town Manager
The appointed chief administrator. Runs the departments, builds the budget, and answers to the Select Board. Hired under contract, not elected.
School Committee
7 members, elected by the voters of the district the schools serve. It sets school policy, approves the school budget, and hires the Superintendent.
- Residents elect the 5 members of the Select Board and the School Committee.
- The Select Board hires the Town Manager and decides what goes on the Town Meeting warrant.
- Town Meeting votes the budget and the bylaws, and every registered voter present can vote.
- You take part: register at 16, vote at 18, and once you are registered you are already a member of Town Meeting.
Civic Calendar
- Select Board: meets at least twice a month and typically every other Thursday, in the Town Hall auditorium at 130 Main Street. Each agenda is posted in advance on the town’s Agenda Center and carries the start time, so check it before you go.
- Town Meeting: the Annual Town Meeting is held in the spring in the Sandwich High School auditorium, and the Select Board can call a Special Town Meeting when business cannot wait. The Moderator, Sean Rausch, presides. The 2026 Annual Town Meeting was Monday, May 4.
- Town elections: Sandwich votes in the spring, across six precincts. The 2026 Annual Town Election was held on Thursday, May 7. The next is in spring 2027.
- State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 primary and general are this fall.
Explore the Sandwich Edition
- Town Manager’s OfficeThe town’s chief administrator
- Select BoardYour five board members
- School CommitteeSuperintendent & committee
- Town DepartmentsWho does what at Town Hall
- Boards & CommissionsWhere residents serve
- LegislatorsYour voice in Boston & D.C.
- Sandwich History1639, the glass, and the canal
- DemographicsWho lives in Sandwich
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataSandwich schools by the numbers
Your County Officials
Two of the people with the most direct power over your life are elected countywide. The district attorney decides who gets charged with a crime, and what they get charged with. The sheriff runs the county jail. Both of them answer to the voters of Barnstable County, and that includes Sandwich. They appear on your ballot. Now you know what to look for.
Every county in Massachusetts elects its own, and the job is the same everywhere: the charging decisions, the jail. Look up any town in the state and see who holds these two offices there.
Your First Civic Action in Sandwich
You do not have to wait until you can vote to be heard in your own town. Here is how to take a real concern to the people who decide.
- Pick the right body. Town policy, roads, and police or fire go to the Select Board. Schools go to the School Committee. The budget and bylaws are voted by Town Meeting.
- Find the meeting. The Select Board meets in the Town Hall auditorium at 130 Main Street, and the agenda is posted in advance on the town’s Agenda Center.
- Know your members. All five Select Board members are elected town-wide, so every one of them answers to you.
- Speak. Meetings are open to the public and residents may address the board. Check the agenda for how to sign up.
- Or skip the trip. Report a pothole, a broken light, or a missed pickup to the Department of Public Works, which is the department that owns the repair.
- Town offices: 100 Route 6A, Sandwich, MA 02563, Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Main line 508-888-5144, Select Board office 508-888-4910.
- Town Clerk & agendas: 508-888-0340, with meeting agendas and minutes posted at sandwichmass.org.
- Public schools: Sandwich Public Schools, 508-888-1054, sandwichk12.org.
Local government works best when residents show up. Find your Select Board, speak at a meeting on the town’s published calendar, or simply register to vote and take your seat at Town Meeting.