Special education
Special education costs
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/special-education.json
Out-of-district tuition was $1,205,949 in FY2025, and 39.3% of it was paid outside the general fund. The state repaid $579,142 in FY2026 through the circuit breaker, a year after the costs.
- Circuit breaker account
- Circuit breaker received that year
- Earned by that year’s costs, received next year
- Every non-general fund, not split
- General fund
- Other funds
1 · What it costs
$1,205,949
out-of-district tuition, every fund, FY2025
$732,298
of it from the general fund, FY2025
$5,466,201
in district, FY2027 balanced budget (our lines)
our estimate
$700,142
tuition budgeted, FY2027, down 46%
—
what one placement costs
not published
2 · What comes back
$579,142
circuit breaker paid by the state, FY2026
$471,771
threshold taken off first, FY2026
$281,806
in the circuit breaker account, close of FY2026
3 · Children and surprises
258
with a special education plan, FY2026
10
placed out of district, FY2025
$223,774
beyond the voted budget, worst year, FY2013
4 · What it adds up to
- 1
Out-of-district tuition was $1,205,949 in FY2025; the general fund paid $732,298 of it.
- 2
The state repaid $579,142 in FY2026, after taking $471,771 off the top.
- 3
In the worst of 17 years special education needed $223,774 beyond its voted budget.
- 4
258 children had a plan in FY2026; 10 were placed out of district in FY2025.
- 5
Nothing published says what one placement costs, so no per-child figure here is a price.
What it costs
- Out-of-district tuition →$1,205,949 went to out-of-district tuition in FY2025; 39.3% of it was paid outside the general fund.Also under School programs
- Cost per placement →No published document says what one out-of-district placement costs.
- In-district special education →The paraprofessional budget line grew 12.78% a year over 10 budgets; the state’s FTE fell 63.3%.Also under School staffing
- Special education transportation →The fastest-growing bus line: 10.1% a year, and $67,555 past its FY2026 budget.Also under Transportation, FY2026 closeout
What comes back
Budgets and surprises
Children and placements
- Students with an IEP →258 Lunenburg children had a special education plan in FY2026, 16.3% of those enrolled.Also under Enrolment
- Out-of-district placements →The town counted 10 children placed out of district in FY2025, against 30 in FY2015.Also under Enrolment
- Hiring versus placing →Placements fell while in-district budgets rose; nothing published shows one caused the other.
- Class size limits →A separate special education group may hold 8 students to one educator, or 12 with an aide.
Elsewhere on the site
| Year | General fund | Grants and revolving funds | Every fund | Share outside the general fund |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $732,298 | $473,651 | $1,205,949 | 39.3% |
| FY2024 | $588,508 | $868,262 | $1,456,770 | 59.6% |
| FY2023 | $304,748 | $523,806 | $828,554 | 63.2% |
| FY2022 | $397,233 | $548,062 | $945,295 | 58.0% |
| FY2021 | $335,377 | $536,052 | $871,429 | 61.5% |
| FY2020 | $869,557 | $445,610 | $1,315,167 | 33.9% |
| FY2019 | $958,495 | $208,206 | $1,166,701 | 17.9% |
| FY2018 | $868,927 | $271,230 | $1,140,157 | 23.8% |
| FY2017 | $637,677 | $532,720 | $1,170,397 | 45.5% |
| FY2016 | $966,251 | $586,891 | $1,553,142 | 37.8% |
| FY2015 | $1,450,036 | $644,777 | $2,094,813 | 30.8% |
| FY2014 | $1,261,690 | $590,702 | $1,852,392 | 31.9% |
| FY2013 | $949,835 | $605,088 | $1,554,923 | 38.9% |
| FY2012 | $665,200 | $567,150 | $1,232,350 | 46.0% |
| FY2011 | $630,620 | $194,574 | $825,194 | 23.6% |
| FY2010 | $203,871 | $335,638 | $539,509 | 62.2% |
| FY2009 | $200,000 | $474,350 | $674,350 | 70.3% |
Functions 9300 and 9400 on the district’s statutory return, closed years. The general fund column equals the district’s own restated budget figure in most years; the other column holds every non-general fund together.