Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | October 6, 2025 | Worcester Business Journal 9 state is moving forward with controversial rule changes to mandate voc-tech schools implement a lottery system to determine who gets in when seats are limited, replacing systems at some schools where interviews, attendance records, and report cards are the determining factor. e lottery is set to go into effect with the 2026-2027 school year, aer years of debate over how best to handle voc-tech admissions. Schools can choose between an unweighted lottery or a weighted lot- tery, which considers a student's shown interest, like attending open houses. e Gov. Maura Healey Adminis- tration has said the lottery will make the competition for limited seats more equitable. A 2020 Boston Globe review of state data found racial inequities in voc-tech admissions. "Career technical education is in demand in many districts, and while our administration works to expand the number of seats available, it is also important to ensure that students of all backgrounds can access those seats," Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said in a February press release. "is proposal seeks to improve the admissions process, which will have positive impacts." Murray has advocated against the lottery, arguing leaving admissions to chance isn't fair. "A lottery system sends the wrong message to students who, in seventh and eighth grade, work hard academically, who follow the rules, who behave, and who show up for school," he said. Worcester Tech began using a tiered lottery during the 2022-23 school year, according to the Worcester Telegram, with criteria more lenient than the up- coming state requirements. "e state makes their decisions, and we just follow the rules and regula- tions," Courtney said. "We are willing to educate whatever student is interested in attending Worcester Tech." Beyond the lottery debate, all sides agree more seats are needed to meet demand and ensure a steady stream of workers into critical fields like health care, plumbing, and manufacturing. Healey announced on Sep. 3 the opening of applications for voc-tech schools to receive $60 million to buy equipment for training and to add 2,000 voc-tech seats across the state. Murray would like to see the state use revenue from the millionaire tax to bring universal voc-tech closer to reality. "ere is a unique opportunity with the millionaires tax to make a real effort to eliminate this waiting list within three to five years, so every student that wants access can get it," he said. Voc-tech schools should choose their own students Massachusetts is implementing a new lottery admissions system for vocational- technical high schools, starting with the 2026-2027 school year. Proposed by the Healey Administration, the new lottery system is an attempt to expand access to voc-tech schools, giving schools with more applicants than seats the choice of either a weighted lottery, which takes aspects like attendance and discipline records into account, or a non-weighted lottery, which does not take academic performance or discipline issues into consideration. When polled online, the plurality of WBJ readers said the schools should be able to choose their own students. Will the new lottery-based admissions systems for vocational-technical high schools make the economy better? 3% READER COMMENT: "Our children deserve better educational opportunities especially in the trades, which are greatly understaffed. If there is a waitlist, then we need to rectify that immediately so that every single child has the same opportunity to become a pro- ductive member of society." - Mike Emberley Timothy Murray, president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce Kavita Babu, MD Medical Director, Community Benefits Dr. Babu's dedication and leadership in the charge against the opioid epidemic has had a lasting impact on thousands of individuals from across the region. Congratulations to Dr. Babu for this prestigious honor and thank you for all you do to support our patients and community! For being recognized as a 2025 Outstanding Women in Business by the Worcester Business Journal UMass Memorial Health congratulates Yes, the new system will help address racial and other inequities in voc-tech admissions. No, the lottery system doesn't solve the waitlist problems, particularly for students not looking to go to college. No, voc-tech schools are better when they can choose the students they believe are best fit. Yes, while not perfect, the lottery gives students with less-than-stellar academic records better chances at vocational careers. 16% 42% 39% Technical High School in Upton. e hands-on experience helps students figure out if the industry is for them, Pentedemos said. "You never really know what you want until you get into that field and see what it's about," he said. "At the end of the day, if I can show them that this is not the field that they want to be in, that's an equal win for me." Pentedemos feels a voc-tech education prepares employees for the continuous training and education needed for both workers and companies to stay on top of technological developments. "Having these kids come in, we'd like to think that we're going to pick up a couple of them and continue to fill out our roster over the years as we go," he said. "But that's not where it ends, because in today's day and age, you have to be staying trained and front of tech- nology. e education portion of it just continues on all the way through." Worcester Tech partnered with Ran- dolph-based NEI General Contracting, which performed construction work at e Cove luxury apartment in the Canal District and other nearby projects. "We have advisory boards where employers can come and partner with us to drive the conversation about what's happening," Courtney said. "We always welcome people to come in and speak to our students directly and have kids go on field trips to different sites." e partnership with NEI has the company place students in co-op posi- tions, with additional students part- nering with subcontractors, in an effort to bring more young people into the construction trades, teaching technical skills, project management, and budget- ing, as the state faces both housing and construction worker shortages. "We have an issue with the future of the workforce, but we can't continue to do the same things that haven't been working to address that issue." said André Barbour, diversity and inclusion director at NEI. "We just want to provide an opportunity that helps a young adult make an informed decision on what they want to do with their future." Growing pains Growth in admissions and voc-tech's importance to both education and in- dustry has lawmakers playing catch-up to this new age of voc-tech education, said Timothy Murray, president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Cham- ber of Commerce. "ere are some policy makers that have an outdated perspective on voc- tech. In the past, maybe it was seen as a place for students who weren't aca- demically up to speed in the traditional sense," Murray said. "Some of the argu- ments that I heard are that those kids who used to go to voc-tech school now can't get in. ese are really popular pro- grams, and the economy has changed." With the crunch for more seats, the W

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