lunenburgbudgetproject.org — written by the Lunenburg Budget Project, an independent tool for residents. Not affiliated with the Town of Lunenburg, the School Committee or the school district. The data this page is computed from: /data/topics/comparison-districts.json
Of six districts this project chose to compare, Lunenburg spent the least a pupil in FY2025.
Spending a pupil, six districts
Harvard$25,565
Groton-Dunstable$22,664
North Middlesex$21,528
Ayer Shirley$20,428
Ashburnham-Westminster$18,142
Lunenburg$18,027
Value
Harvard
$25,565
Groton-Dunstable
$22,664
North Middlesex
$21,528
Ayer Shirley
$20,428
Ashburnham-Westminster
$18,142
Lunenburg
$18,027
All funds, FY2025. The six are this project’s choice; no document records why.
1 · The facts
$18,027
Lunenburg, a pupil, all funds, FY2025
$18,142
Ashburnham-Westminster, next above
$115
between the two (our arithmetic)
$25,565
Harvard, the highest of the six
6 of 6
Lunenburg’s place, FY2025
5th
its best place among the six, FY2009 to FY2025
2 · What it shows
1
Lunenburg spent $18,027 a pupil, sixth of six; Ashburnham-Westminster spent $115 more.
2
In 17 years its place among the six was never better than 5th.
3
Harvard spent the most, $25,565; the statewide rank does not depend on this set.
The six districts, FY2025
A pupil
All funds
FTE pupils
Harvard
$25,565
$27,236,238
1,065.4
Groton-Dunstable
$22,664
$54,106,517
2,387.4
North Middlesex
$21,528
$65,728,795
3,053.2
Ayer Shirley School District
$20,428
$38,561,581
1,887.6
Ashburnham-Westminster
$18,142
$41,432,696
2,283.8
Lunenburg
$18,027
$30,031,242
1,665.9
DESE’s end-of-year finance collection and RADAR. Ayer stands in for Ayer Shirley before the two regionalised for FY2012.
What was said
“neighboring districts such as Lancaster, Ayer/Shirley, Groton, Pepperell, Townsend, Leominster, and Fitchburg have faced similar challenges while achieving stronger outcomes”