Whittier Tech Families Blast Blind Lottery, Committee Vows to Seek State Fix

NEWBURYPORT — February 25, 2026 — Whittier Tech School Committee members openly opposed the district's new blind lottery admissions system after emotional public testimony from affected staff families. Three speakers — including Logan Hardy, an eighth grader whose father Robert Hardy is the school's facilities manager, and vocational coordinator Amanda Crosby, whose daughter Lila landed 356th on the waitlist — asked the committee to restore superintendent discretion and adopt staff-preference exceptions. Superintendent Maureen Lynch disclosed that 771 students applied for the incoming Class of 2030, a 17.4 percent increase, but said the lottery left her "no authority to act in what I believe is in the best interest" of individual students during appeals. Chair Wood said a legal opinion confirmed DESE regulations leave no local discretion to grant staff-children preference: "There is no wiggle room for us." Lynch said she will pursue changes with the district's legislative delegation, while a majority of committee members signaled they want the policy revised before the next admissions cycle.