Analyses

9 children, $579,142 back from the state

The state reimburses part of what the costliest special education placements cost — after deducting $52,419 per child, and only at the share it appropriated that year. Twenty-one years of what Lunenburg claimed and what came back.

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/circuit-breaker.json

$579,142
reimbursed in FY2026, on $1,257,225 of eligible costs
9
children claimed — 29 at the most
73.7%
of the claim paid this year; the statute allows up to 75%

How it works

For each child whose special education costs exceed four times the state average foundation budget per pupil, the state reimburses up to 75% of the cost above that threshold, pro-rated to the year’s appropriation. Paid the following year.

What this report counts

DOLLARS PAID by fiscal year of payment, and a COUNT of children claimed, from DESE’s reimbursement file. A payment reimburses the previous year’s spending. A child is claimed only if their cost exceeded the threshold; the many in placements below it are not here.

019children claimed, FY2026

29 children claimed in FY2013, 9 in FY2026; the cost per child went from $67,111 to $139,692.

A third fewer dollars for a third as many children: each placement costs about twice what one did.

The number of children whose placements cost enough to reach the state threshold has fallen by two-thirds; the dollars fell by a third. Eligible expenses were $1,946,230 for 29 children in FY2013 and $1,257,225 for 9 in FY2026. The average eligible cost per child claimed roughly doubled over those years. A district with nine such placements is exposed to each one: one child arriving or leaving moves this line by more than a tenth.

What out-of-district placements cost → · Who ends up out of district →

What it rests on `dese_circuit_breaker`, Lunenburg rows, eligible_students_claimed and total_eligible_expenses by fiscal year of payment; per child is the division.

What it does not show Which children, which placements, or why the count fell. A claimed child is one whose costs exceeded the threshold; children in costly placements below it are not counted here at all.

0242.3%of the claim paid, FY2010

The state paid 42.3% of the claim in FY2010 and 75.0% in FY2023; the statute allows up to 75%.

17 of 21 years at 70% or more. The share is the Legislature’s appropriation, not Lunenburg’s costs.

In FY2010 the claim was $498,853 and the payment $211,224. The shortfall in a pro-rated year lands on the town’s budget with no warning the district can act on, because the rate is not known until the state’s books close. That is the sense in which this line is unforecastable from Lunenburg.

The rest of what the state sends →

What it rests on `dese_circuit_breaker`, total_quarterly_payment divided by total_net_claim, Lunenburg rows, every year.

What it does not show The appropriation itself, or why any year was short. The state file gives the result, not the vote.

03$52,419deducted per child, FY2026

In FY2026 the state deducted $52,419 per child before reimbursing anything — $471,771 in all.

The district pays the first $52,419 of every claimed child, then gets about three-quarters of the rest.

Of $1,257,225 in eligible expenses the state paid $579,142 — 46.1% of the total, because the threshold comes off first and the share applies to what is left. The threshold is four times the state’s average foundation budget per pupil and rises with it, so the district’s own share rises even when nothing about a placement changes.

What it rests on `dese_circuit_breaker` threshold_amount divided by eligible_students_claimed; total_quarterly_payment over total_eligible_expenses.

What it does not show The foundation figure the threshold is four times of; DESE publishes the resulting threshold, not its derivation, in this file.

04$94,993transport reimbursed, FY2026

Since FY2022 the state has also reimbursed special education transport: $94,993 in FY2026.

New money: from $14,596 in its first year to a peak of $111,560 in FY2025.

Before FY2022 the transport column is empty for every district; the reimbursement did not exist. It is a separate line from tuition and is included in the payment totals above.

What it rests on `dese_circuit_breaker` reimb_transport, Lunenburg rows.

What it does not show What the district spends on special education transport in total; this is the reimbursed part only.

05$139,692per claimed child, FY2026

Lunenburg’s cost per claimed child, $139,692, is second highest of 6 districts in FY2026.

The neighbours range from $104,213 to $160,652 per child; each is paid about the same share.

The table below gives each district’s children claimed, cost per child and share paid. Statewide, the same file counts 10,759 children and $1,443,824,902 in eligible expenses.

The same districts, on spending →

What it rests on `dese_circuit_breaker`, FY2026 district rows for Lunenburg and its neighbours; state row for the totals.

What it does not show Whether a higher cost per child reflects the children’s needs, the placements chosen, or the prices charged. All three move it.

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.

The money, year by year

Eligible costs, the threshold deducted, and what the state paid. The gap between the top line and the bottom is the district’s own share.

  • eligible costs
  • paid by the state
  • threshold deducted
FY2006FY2009FY2012FY2015FY2018FY2021FY2024$0k$550k$1100k$1650k$2200k

Children claimed, and the cost of each

FY2006FY2010FY2014FY2018FY2022FY202608162432
FY2006FY2010FY2014FY2018FY2022FY2026$0k$40k$80k$120k$160k

The share the state paid

FY2006FY2010FY2014FY2018FY2022FY20260%20%40%60%80%

The statute allows up to 75%; the years below 70% are years the Legislature’s appropriation fell short and every district was pro-rated.

The neighbours, FY2026

districtchildrenper childshare paid
Ashburnham-Westminster17$160,65273.8%
Lunenburg9$139,69273.7%
North Middlesex59$136,93472.0%
Harvard25$119,07072.7%
Groton-Dunstable42$118,55274.4%
Ayer Shirley School District28$104,21374.1%

Statewide: 10,759 children claimed, $1,443,824,902 eligible, $654,908,055 paid.

Every year

fychildreneligiblethresholdclaimpaidtransportshare
FY200621$1,003,928$530,950$391,606$293,70575.0%
FY200718$976,678$553,280$398,519$298,88975.0%
FY200824$1,291,577$775,100$407,190$305,39375.0%
FY200923$1,495,433$796,680$658,752$474,30172.0%
FY201026$1,491,707$951,864$498,853$211,22442.3%
FY201123$1,368,309$830,674$460,707$201,16543.7%
FY201225$1,542,888$931,686$611,202$419,94568.7%
FY201329$1,946,230$1,109,106$837,124$615,31773.5%
FY201423$1,698,959$931,776$767,183$575,38975.0%
FY201528$2,070,408$1,159,424$910,984$672,63473.8%
FY201623$2,010,177$964,712$1,045,465$784,09975.0%
FY201720$1,550,970$856,800$694,170$507,83273.2%
FY201814$1,112,072$603,316$508,756$366,79072.1%
FY201912$1,107,905$529,272$578,633$430,95874.5%
FY202013$1,233,945$595,296$638,649$478,98775.0%
FY20219$1,081,273$435,168$646,105$484,57975.0%
FY20227$1,061,557$373,632$692,524$519,394$14,59675.0%
FY20236$838,507$284,178$554,329$415,750$52,67175.0%
FY20247$914,865$346,458$568,407$401,966$81,51970.7%
FY20259$1,198,030$465,489$732,541$508,441$111,56069.4%
FY20269$1,257,225$471,771$785,455$579,142$94,99373.7%
  • Which placements or which children are behind any row; the file counts and sums.
  • Why the count of claimed children fell from the high twenties to single digits after FY2016.
  • What Lunenburg spends on special education transport in total; only the reimbursed part is here.

What would close these

The district’s own out-of-district placement list by setting and cost, which it holds and does not publish. Every limit on this page is also a row in what we cannot answer, which is the single registry the records request reads from.

dese-circuit-breaker.xlsx

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Special Education Circuit Breaker reimbursements, every Massachusetts district, FY2006-FY2026: children claimed, eligible expenses, the threshold, the net claim, and what was paid, by fiscal year of payment. Stage: published by the state; dollars paid, and a count of children claimed

table · 449 KB

sha256 b710ba4f88fb7082…

our copy · the publisher’s

Every other report

The One Big Report →The blog — one finding at a time, in two minutes →This week in town — meetings coming up, minutes and recordings just posted →What was said — minutes from the recordings →Lunenburg by the numbers — who lives here →Special education — four reports →How many students one special education group may have →What other districts spend, for each pupil →What the state requires us to spend — and where that puts us →Chapter 70 — the formula, and why it pays the floor →How Chapter 70 actually works, in eight steps →School staffing — did it go up, and over which years →Who works in each school →The paraprofessionals →What courses actually ran, subject by subject →AP exams — who sits them, in what, and how they score →The cut register — what was announced, and what shows →What stopped being funded →When a grant ends — who picks up the bill →Who is in the schools — enrolment, FY1994 to today →Which grades students leave in →Who leaves Lunenburg schools, and where they go →Monty Tech — the assessment, and what sets it →If students leave — what school choice would cost →What a family actually pays →What sports cost, and who pays →Health insurance — the cost outside the school budget →Budgets against what was later reported →

Every analysis this project has written, in one index, is at reports.

What changed

Version 14 — updated September 7, 2026