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.