Analysis: Town and Schools
The boards, compared
Every board the town posts for, set beside the others on what the record measures. One measure so far — which meetings got minutes, FY2023 to FY2026 — and more to come. Each board’s own page.
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/board-posting.json
- Library Board of Trustees98% 43 of 44
- Finance Committee96% 94 of 98
- Cemetery Commission94% 49 of 52
- Architectural Preservation District Commission94% 43 of 46
- Board of Assessors93% 84 of 90
- Conservation Commission90% 91 of 101
- Council on Aging90% 45 of 50
- Sewer Commission90% 79 of 88
- Personnel Committee87% 39 of 45
- Parks Commission86% 49 of 57
- Public Access Cable Committee (PACC)81% 42 of 52
- Planning Board80% 73 of 91
- Lunenburg Housing Authority80% 28 of 35
- Select Board76% 145 of 192
- Board of Health73% 44 of 60
- Agricultural Commission72% 42 of 58
- Historical Commission66% 31 of 47
- Lunenburg Municipal Building Design Committee66% 31 of 47
- Green Communities Committee59% 19 of 32
- School Committee52% 80 of 155
- Master Plan Steering Committee48% 12 of 25
- Open Space Committee46% 18 of 39
- By-Law Committee46% 10 of 22
- Economic Development Committee43% 16 of 37
- Cultural Council23% 7 of 31
- Capital Planning Committee22% 9 of 41
- Stormwater Task Force19% 8 of 43
- School Advisory Councils & Committees7% 6 of 89
- Zoning Board of Appeals2% 1 of 56
- Board of Registrars0% 0 of 22
Measure 1 — which meetings got minutes
Across every board, FY2023 to FY2026: 1,284 of 1,934 meetings with a posted agenda also have posted minutes, 66%. Board by board and year by year, on the town’s own site.
What this report counts
COUNTS of documents on the town’s Agenda Center — a meeting is a date with a posted agenda; minutes are minutes listed for that date. Not whether a meeting happened, and not what the minutes say. Meetings in the last 60 days are left out, because minutes are approved at the next meeting and posted after it.
The Library Board of Trustees: minutes posted for 43 of 44 meetings, the best of any board.
What posting every meeting’s minutes looks like on the town’s site; every other board is measured against it.
Across all 30 boards with twenty or more meetings, FY2023 to FY2026, 1,284 of 1,934 meetings have minutes posted, 66%. The Library Board of Trustees posted minutes for 43 of 44 of its own — 97.7% — over the same four years.
What it rests on The town’s Agenda Center, every agenda and every set of minutes it lists per board (sources/meetings/index.csv). A meeting is a date with a posted agenda; it has minutes if minutes are listed for the same board and date. Meetings in the last 60 days are left out, because minutes are approved at the next meeting and posted after.
What it does not show Whether a meeting was held. A posted agenda for a cancelled meeting counts as a meeting without minutes, and the Agenda Center does not mark cancellations.
The School Committee posted minutes for 66% of its FY2026 meetings (23 of 35); none in FY2023.
Its four-year figure, 52%, is mostly one blank year; since then it runs 70%. The standard above is 98%.
Year by year: FY2023 0 of 40; FY2024 25 of 34; FY2025 32 of 46; FY2026 23 of 35. Leaving out the blank year, 80 of 115 meetings have minutes, 70%. Over all four years the committee ranks 20 of 30 boards.
What it rests on The same count, School Committee rows only. The district’s own site sends readers to the town’s Agenda Center for its minutes (checked 17 September 2026), so this is the shelf to count.
What it does not show Why. A vacancy, a policy, minutes approved and never uploaded — nothing in the Agenda Center distinguishes them, and this page does not guess.
The Select Board went from 97% of meetings with minutes in FY2023 to 64% in FY2026.
The largest fall of any board over the four years, 33 points. A lifetime average would not show it.
38 of 39 meetings in FY2023 had minutes; 38 of 59 in FY2026. Meetings in the last 60 days are already excluded, so this is not the posting lag.
What it rests on The same count, first and last fiscal year in the window, boards with ten or more meetings in both.
What it does not show Whether minutes exist and were not posted, or were never written. The Agenda Center shows what was uploaded.
Those are the answers this report could reach from the documents behind it. If the one you came for is not among them, ask us — no name or email needed.
Read every board, every yearThe full version9 min
The three budget boards
Meetings with minutes posted, of meetings with a posted agenda, by fiscal year (July to June). The last column is the share of meetings the town’s channel holds a recording for.
| board | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 | all 4 years | recorded | the record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finance Committee#2 | 23 of 24 (96%) | 24 of 24 (100%) | 22 of 22 (100%) | 25 of 28 (89%) | 94 of 98 (96%) | 97% | 92% |
| Select Board#14 | 38 of 39 (97%) | 41 of 45 (91%) | 28 of 49 (57%) | 38 of 59 (64%) | 145 of 192 (76%) | 89% | 86% |
| School Committee#20 | 0 of 40 (0%) | 25 of 34 (74%) | 32 of 46 (70%) | 23 of 35 (66%) | 80 of 155 (52%) | 73% | 72% |
Every board with 20 or more meetings
Ranked by the 4-year share. Green is ninety per cent or better; red is under sixty.
| board | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 | all 4 years | recorded | the record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Library Board of Trustees#1 | 10 of 10 (100%) | 11 of 11 (100%) | 12 of 12 (100%) | 10 of 11 (91%) | 43 of 44 (98%) | 0% | 57% |
| Finance Committee#2 | 23 of 24 (96%) | 24 of 24 (100%) | 22 of 22 (100%) | 25 of 28 (89%) | 94 of 98 (96%) | 97% | 92% |
| Cemetery Commission#3 | 12 of 12 (100%) | 14 of 15 (93%) | 7 of 8 (88%) | 16 of 17 (94%) | 49 of 52 (94%) | 48% | 76% |
| Architectural Preservation District Commission#4 | 12 of 12 (100%) | 11 of 11 (100%) | 12 of 13 (92%) | 8 of 10 (80%) | 43 of 46 (93%) | 76% | 87% |
| Board of Assessors#5 | 20 of 23 (87%) | 24 of 24 (100%) | 22 of 24 (92%) | 18 of 19 (95%) | 84 of 90 (93%) | 81% | 88% |
| Conservation Commission#6 | 22 of 23 (96%) | 21 of 21 (100%) | 24 of 26 (92%) | 24 of 31 (77%) | 91 of 101 (90%) | 91% | 90% |
| Council on Aging#7 | 11 of 13 (85%) | 10 of 13 (77%) | 12 of 12 (100%) | 12 of 12 (100%) | 45 of 50 (90%) | 42% | 72% |
| Sewer Commission#8 | 19 of 21 (90%) | 15 of 18 (83%) | 24 of 25 (96%) | 21 of 24 (88%) | 79 of 88 (90%) | 88% | 88% |
| Personnel Committee#9 | 20 of 22 (91%) | 19 of 23 (83%) | — | — | 39 of 45 (87%) | 69% | 78% |
| Parks Commission#10 | 13 of 15 (87%) | 12 of 14 (86%) | 16 of 16 (100%) | 8 of 12 (67%) | 49 of 57 (86%) | 86% | 87% |
| Public Access Cable Committee (PACC)#11 | 11 of 13 (85%) | 8 of 11 (73%) | 12 of 15 (80%) | 11 of 13 (85%) | 42 of 52 (81%) | 87% | 86% |
| Planning Board#12 | 20 of 24 (83%) | 13 of 22 (59%) | 21 of 23 (91%) | 19 of 22 (86%) | 73 of 91 (80%) | 88% | 86% |
| Lunenburg Housing Authority#13 | 10 of 12 (83%) | 9 of 9 (100%) | 7 of 7 (100%) | 2 of 7 (29%) | 28 of 35 (80%) | 0% | 51% |
| Select Board#14 | 38 of 39 (97%) | 41 of 45 (91%) | 28 of 49 (57%) | 38 of 59 (64%) | 145 of 192 (76%) | 89% | 86% |
| Board of Health#15 | 10 of 14 (71%) | 7 of 16 (44%) | 14 of 15 (93%) | 13 of 15 (87%) | 44 of 60 (73%) | 0% | 50% |
| Agricultural Commission#16 | 9 of 13 (69%) | 7 of 14 (50%) | 19 of 19 (100%) | 7 of 12 (58%) | 42 of 58 (72%) | 0% | 49% |
| Historical Commission#17 | 6 of 10 (60%) | 11 of 12 (92%) | 5 of 12 (42%) | 9 of 13 (69%) | 31 of 47 (66%) | 0% | 47% |
| Lunenburg Municipal Building Design Committee#18 | 3 of 8 (38%) | 2 of 4 (50%) | 16 of 20 (80%) | 10 of 15 (67%) | 31 of 47 (66%) | 83% | 81% |
| Green Communities Committee#19 | 2 of 9 (22%) | 6 of 8 (75%) | 8 of 11 (73%) | 3 of 4 (75%) | 19 of 32 (59%) | 0% | 45% |
| School Committee#20 | 0 of 40 (0%) | 25 of 34 (74%) | 32 of 46 (70%) | 23 of 35 (66%) | 80 of 155 (52%) | 73% | 72% |
| Master Plan Steering Committee#21 | — | 8 of 9 (89%) | 1 of 6 (17%) | 3 of 10 (30%) | 12 of 25 (48%) | 84% | 78% |
| Open Space Committee#22 | 6 of 11 (55%) | 4 of 8 (50%) | 3 of 10 (30%) | 5 of 10 (50%) | 18 of 39 (46%) | 67% | 68% |
| By-Law Committee#23 | 6 of 12 (50%) | 0 of 1 (0%) | — | 4 of 9 (44%) | 10 of 22 (45%) | 0% | 42% |
| Economic Development Committee#24 | 5 of 11 (45%) | 6 of 10 (60%) | 1 of 7 (14%) | 4 of 9 (44%) | 16 of 37 (43%) | 41% | 58% |
| Cultural Council#25 | 4 of 7 (57%) | 3 of 12 (25%) | 0 of 7 (0%) | 0 of 5 (0%) | 7 of 31 (23%) | 0% | 35% |
| Capital Planning Committee#26 | 0 of 12 (0%) | 3 of 10 (30%) | 6 of 10 (60%) | 0 of 9 (0%) | 9 of 41 (22%) | 95% | 71% |
| Stormwater Task Force#27 | 2 of 9 (22%) | 6 of 8 (75%) | 0 of 9 (0%) | 0 of 17 (0%) | 8 of 43 (19%) | 77% | 66% |
| School Advisory Councils & Committees#28 | 0 of 22 (0%) | 0 of 24 (0%) | 1 of 26 (4%) | 5 of 17 (29%) | 6 of 89 (7%) | 0% | 31% |
| Zoning Board of Appeals#29 | 0 of 14 (0%) | 0 of 16 (0%) | 0 of 14 (0%) | 1 of 12 (8%) | 1 of 56 (2%) | 96% | 67% |
| Board of Registrars#30 | 0 of 7 (0%) | 0 of 2 (0%) | 0 of 8 (0%) | 0 of 5 (0%) | 0 of 22 (0%) | 0% | 29% |
Boards with fewer meetings
Listed, not ranked: too few meetings for a share to mean much.
| board | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 | all 4 years | recorded | the record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lunenburg 300th Anniversary Committee | — | 2 of 3 (67%) | 3 of 3 (100%) | 7 of 8 (88%) | 12 of 14 (86%) | 0% | 53% |
| Trust Fund Commission | — | — | 1 of 1 (100%) | 15 of 18 (83%) | 16 of 19 (84%) | 95% | 93% |
| Finance Committee Appointing Committee | 1 of 1 (100%) | 3 of 3 (100%) | 2 of 3 (67%) | 1 of 2 (50%) | 7 of 9 (78%) | 11% | 56% |
| Town Manager Screening Committee | — | 0 of 1 (0%) | 6 of 10 (60%) | — | 6 of 11 (55%) | 55% | 68% |
| Nashoba Valley Reginal Dispatch Committee | 5 of 10 (50%) | — | — | — | 5 of 10 (50%) | 0% | 43% |
| Athletic Advisory Council | 0 of 1 (0%) | — | 0 of 3 (0%) | — | 0 of 4 (0%) | 50% | 50% |
| BOA Neighborhood ans Site Index Subcommittee | — | 0 of 1 (0%) | — | — | 0 of 1 (0%) | 0% | 29% |
| Budget Task Force | — | — | 0 of 15 (0%) | — | 0 of 15 (0%) | 87% | 64% |
| North Central Climate Change Coalition | — | — | 0 of 3 (0%) | 0 of 3 (0%) | 0 of 6 (0%) | 0% | 29% |
What the Select Board sent after being asked
16 sets of minutes the town had not published — 9 approved, 7 still in draft.
Sixteen sets of Select Board minutes the town had not published, sent to this project after a question about the gap. Nine are approved, seven of them at the Board’s meeting of 15 September 2026; seven are still drafts the Board has not voted on.
The figure above is unchanged. The figure above is unchanged, and should be: it counts minutes the town POSTED on its Agenda Center, and these arrived by email. They are now in this archive and searchable, which is a different thing from being published by the town.
Sent by the Chair of the Select Board, 18 September 2026. A draft is not the record: minutes become official when the body votes to approve them, and the Board may amend a draft first. How it reached us, and the three things it does not establish, are in sources/meetings/PROVENANCE-select-board-2026-09-18.md.
How this is counted
The town’s Agenda Center lists every agenda and every set of minutes each board has posted; the refresh reads it daily. A meeting here is a date a board posted an agenda for, and it has minutes if the Agenda Center lists minutes for the same board and date. Nothing is inferred from a recording or from our own minutes. The School Committee is a district body with its own page, and that page sends readers to the town’s Agenda Center for minutes — so it is counted on the same shelf as every other board (checked 2026-10-10).
- How long after a meeting its minutes appear. The watcher has recorded posting dates only since 8 September 2026; a year of it will say.
- Whether an agenda without minutes was a meeting that happened. The Agenda Center does not mark cancellations.
- Whether every recording is of the meeting the agenda names; recordings are classified to a board and date by title.
- Whether minutes a board holds but has not posted exist for any other board. Sixteen turned up for the Select Board because somebody was asked; nothing here samples the other thirty-eight, and a board with no posted minutes may have written them.
What would close these
A year of the watcher’s posting dates (collected since 8 September 2026) would give how long each board takes to post; the town’s own record of cancelled meetings would separate a meeting that was not minuted from one that was not held. Every limit on this page is also a row in what we cannot answer, which is the single registry the records request reads from.