Scholarship Fund Considers Revamp of Application Process

The Town of Burlington Scholarship Fund Committee is looking to update its application process to tackle concerns about equity and the perception of bias in application review.

Committee chair Kendra Lamoretti presented the proposal to the Select Board at their December 16, 2024, meeting. The main change involves moving away from having applications submitted only to the Burlington High School guidance office. The committee worries the current process makes it harder for applicants who aren't BHS students, such as students at Shawsheen and at private schools, to submit their applications.

Another issue is that BHS guidance staff currently provide name-blind applications to the committee. Lamoretti pointed out that this could introduce bias into the process.

To fix these problems, the committee wants to allow applications to be submitted online or dropped off at Town Hall. Select Board members liked the idea of improving the process but have questions about how it would work. While the Board helped troubleshoot the process for application submission, several Board Members pointed out that online submission would be the most streamlined way to collect applications. Virtually everyone has access to email, said Member Mike Espejo, and those who don't have it at home can use library computers for free.

As for the issue of who is blinding the applications, one suggestion from the Board was to have one Committee member be a non-voting member each year; this member would take care of the blinding process. Lamoretti mentioned the committee is also trying to get more members to help with reviewing applications.

Town Administrator Paul Sagarino suggested meeting with committee members and IT staff to iron out the details before bringing a final proposal back to the board.

While the Select Board didn't officially vote on the proposal, they asked Sagarino to keep working with the scholarship committee to fine-tune the new application process.