The School Committee on Thursday heard an update on the admissions policy for Keefe Regional Technical High School. A new state mandate means a lottery system will be used.
Attending on behalf of the Framingham-based technical school were Keefe Tech Superintendent Jonathan Evans and Keefe Tech School Committee members (and Hopkinton residents) Sabine St. Pierre and Brendan Tedstone.
Evans explained that a Department of Education (DOE) change state-wide means the school’s five member communities will participate in a lottery for ninth grade admissions.
The communities in addition to Hopkinton are Framingham, Ashland, Holliston and Natick.
Students are eligible for up to four entries into the lottery if they show interest in Keefe, have not had significant disciplinary issues and don’t have significant problems with attendance, Evans said.
Hopkinton will have eight designated slots for the ninth grade class “to have the ability to be part of our great high school experience,” said Keefe’s superintendent.
The town generally has 20 applications or less, although this year there are 21 applicants.
By comparison, Framingham has 500-plus applicants and 172 slots, according to Evans.
He noted that Chapter 71 funds cover transportation costs, so families are not charged for that.
Susan Rothermich, assistant superintendent for finance and operations, said that Keefe “is carried on the town side of the budget.”
Hopkinton School Committee member Jamie Wronka said she found the number of slots “really restrictive” and expressed concern for students who struggle in the traditional high school environment.
Vice chair Susan Stephenson said with the high percentage of students hailing from Framingham (75%), it seems like the other member towns are “afterthoughts.”
Member Chris Masters questioned how the number of slots is decided. Evans explained that an average from the last three Oct. 1 figures was taken to determine the percentages.
Evans said he was pleased to get an “apportion” piece from the DOE to protect all member communities in the process, even those with the smallest enrollment. Without that protection, Hopkinton applicants would have been “thrown in with the other 600” in the lottery, he noted.
The superintendent acknowledged that Keefe is in the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) pipeline for either a major renovation or new school project. The plan is just approaching the feasibility phase, so modernizing the building would not happen for several years.
Evans said the school was built in the 1960s and “looks good for its age.”
However, he noted shops are undersized and the electrical system needs upgrades. “We want to do better,” he said.
The possibility of a 1,200-student high school (900 currently), would mean the waiting list could be cut in the future, according to Keefe’s superintendent.
“But we have another generation of kids who have to graduate before a [new] building,” Evans added.
In response to a question from Hopkinton School Committee member Nancy Cavanaugh, Evans said there are no plans to fix and reopen its pool, which in the past was used by Hopkinton students.
Evans said the pool is not a reimbursable cost by the MSBA, and the district is more focused on its educational mission.
Tedstone spoke about how different Keefe looks now compared to in the past. He said it would be valuable for Hopkinton’s committee members to take a tour of the school.
Said Cavanaugh, “From the outside, you can’t believe what they are doing inside.”
St. Pierre said her oldest child is a freshman at Keefe, and her youngest will go through the lottery process to get in.
“I’m very impressed with the district. It is student-focused everything,” St. Pierre said.
She noted that Keefe students share their experiences with peers and parents at events and, “They are ready for the world.”
Stephenson said she is impressed what a “voc-tech education looks like in Massachusetts compared to Pennsylvania,” where she used to reside.
Hopkinton chair Kyla McSweeney noted she has a friend whose son has been “accepted into prestigious colleges” and for whom “Keefe changed his life.”
St. Pierre said she hoped the new state-mandated policy for admissions does not deter parents and students from applying to Keefe.
Hope Hopkinton is putting a placeholder on the CapEx plan for the potential Keefe construction project. Tri-County’s new school, currently under construction, is budgeted at about $285M.