New Bedford regional vocational school to finalize weighted lottery policy after residency questions

The Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School District Committee discussed a proposed weighted lottery admissions policy on Sept. 9 and agreed to postpone final approval until its October meeting to allow staff to resolve residency-verification questions and monitor statewide practice.

Superintendent Watson told the committee that the administration does not have to finalize the policy at the Sept. 9 meeting and that “we would need it passed by the October meeting because I need to submit it to the department by November.” The memo in the committee packet outlined how the district’s proposed policy would align with the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education’s guidance and described administration recommendations for the committee.

The discussion centered on whether proof of residency should be required before the lottery number is assigned or verified later during placement testing. Watson said the administration is already undertaking a district-wide residency verification effort and reported that “we currently, as of today, have close to 1,300 of the forms in. Today was the due date. I’m pretty happy with that. It’s about 65% of the forms that are in at the due date.” The administration noted the Arbiter residency form used in the application process asks for multiple proofs — for example a mortgage statement or lease, a tax filing, and a Massachusetts license or a utility bill — and explained that some versions of the form effectively require multiple documents to complete electronic residency certification.

Committee members pressed for clarity about special cases, including McKinney-Vento students and applicants who may be moving into the district after the application deadline. An administrator said McKinney‑Vento students are treated based on their last school address and the district is busing some eligible students from other communities according to that last address. The superintendent and other members raised concerns about applicants using relatives’ or temporary addresses and described field verification visits the district has conducted when questions arise.

The committee discussed attendance and discipline criteria that would provide additional weighted entries ("extra balls") in the lottery. The administration said the proposed weighted lottery would give each applicant one ball and an additional ball if they met the two standards for attendance and discipline; those criteria reflect statewide policy changes the superintendent described as the Board’s default. Members expressed disagreement with the state-level attendance standard but did not remove the criterion at the meeting.

Rather than vote on the policy on Sept. 9, the committee agreed to have staff finalize the draft, monitor what other regional vocational-technical schools and the department of elementary and secondary education are doing on residency verification, and return a final policy for the committee’s October meeting. The administration said it would circulate information about the eligibility/residency options to committee members by the Thursday before the October meeting.

Implementation questions the committee asked staff to address before October included how the district will verify moves that are pending (purchase closings or new leases), the appeals/hearing process when residency is contested, and how McKinney‑Vento eligibility will be reflected in the policy.