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Parents and school officials press board to fix vocational lottery after twins split, warn of legal and budgetary fallout
Summary
Public commenters, including vocational directors and school committee members, urged the board to allow sibling/twin consideration in vocational admissions after lottery outcomes split families and cite legal challenges and municipal budget impacts.
Several parents and school officials used public comment to press the state board to revisit a new lottery-based vocational admissions policy after families reported siblings and twins being separated by the random selection process.
Carrie Beltramitis, vocational director at Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School, described how her identical twin sons applied together and one was admitted while the other was left out. "When fairness becomes so rigid that it separates twins, we have to ask ourselves whether the system is truly serving students and families," Beltramitis said, adding that one son has extreme anxiety and an IEP.
Tracy Stewart, a former Tri-County School Committee member, framed the issue as part of a broader legal and fiscal challenge to the board's May 2025 decision to mandate a blanket lottery. Stewart said the approach "uses a chainsaw where a scalpel was required," warned of a public-records request from the Pacific Legal Foundation seeking internal records, and said some towns could face large unbudgeted assessments (she cited Marblehead facing a half-million dollar hit to Essex Tech in one year).
Why it matters: Testimony highlighted both personal hardship — siblings separated, anxiety and IEP implications — and systemic concerns: whether a statewide lottery is an overreach that undermines local authority, how the change affects municipal budgets and Chapter 74 programming, and whether legislative or legal remedies are likely.
Board response and context: Board members did not take formal action during public comment. Speakers and several commenters referenced pending and proposed legislative remedies (including Amendment 1580 and a Vocational Task Force bill reported by advocates) and warned of organized opposition. Department and board staff will continue to receive public comment as the policy's effects are reviewed.
What to watch: Local school committees, affected families and advocacy groups that back the vocational coalition plan legislative or legal responses, and the department’s follow-up with districts about capacity-based discretion.
