You cannot pick individual line items here — that is the next page. Here you set only the order in which things are given up, and the model cuts from the bottom until each year’s gap is closed. It runs against the district’s own published growth rates, with no fee increases and no savings, so what you see is what a ranking costs on its own.
Your turn
The ranking
Below is the ranking Lunenburg’s School Committee revealed through its own four FY27 budget scenarios — the order in which it gave things up. Ashburnham-Westminster ranked the same list almost upside down. Change it to yours.
The order Lunenburg itself sacrificed things across its own four FY27 scenarios. Athletics and arts went first; special education, mandated services and classroom teachers were defended longest.
1Special Educationprotected longest
2Core Classroom & Class Size
3Early Literacy & Intervention
4Student Mental Health & Health
5School Leadership & Admin
6Advanced & Elective Academics
7Operations & Facilities
8Technology
9Clubs & Activities
10Arts & Music
11Athleticscut first
Top of the list is defended longest. Bottom is cut first. Reorder to see how the outcome changes — or pick a preset above to start from someone else's priorities.
What this ranking does
Updates as you reorder. These are the results the rest of this page is built on.
Equipment Replacement & Capital Maintenance$75,045
The year each thing goes
School sportsFY28
Band & chorusFY28
LibrariesFY29
AP coursesFY30
Reading specialistsFY31
More teachersFY32
“Safe” means still funded through FY32 — not that it is protected for good.
The consequence
Where the cut line falls
Drag the slider to set how big a hole has to be closed, or pick a year marker. Everything below the line is gone. The order comes from the priorities you set above — so if you dislike this outcome, the fix is upstream.
Your ranking: School Committee's revealed priorities — protecting Special Education longest, cutting Athletics first. Change it
Budget hole to close
$930,273
Staff positions lost
2.9
At this size, the hole matches the shortfall projected for FY28 — $939,180 of programs fall below the cut line, costing 2.9 staff positions.
11 of 39 programs below the line
✓ Kept✕ Cut⚖ Protected by law — skipped, not cutOpen any program for the detail.
Disagree with some of it? Take this ranking’s FY28 cuts over to the adjustments page as a starting point — every item becomes a switch you can flip, alongside the fees and savings that could replace them. This page is not affected by anything you do there.
The trajectory
What each year takes
Costs rise faster than Proposition 2½ lets revenue rise. Unless something changes, the gap reopens every year — and every year the cut line moves further up your priority list.
Your ranking: School Committee's revealed priorities — protecting Special Education longest, cutting Athletics first. Change it
Cost to keep today’s services
Revenue available
Projected cost of maintaining current services, revenue available, and the resulting gap, by fiscal year, assuming no cuts are made
Year
Cost of today’s services
Revenue available
Gap
FY28
$28,361,470
$27,431,197
$930,273
FY29
$29,842,207
$28,311,734
$1,530,474
FY30
$31,412,392
$29,214,447
$2,197,945
FY31
$33,078,066
$30,139,901
$2,938,165
FY32
$34,845,718
$31,088,674
$3,757,043
The year each thing is lost
All school sports
FY28
Next school year
High school band & chorus
FY28
Next school year
Staffed school libraries
FY29
2 years from now
Advanced Placement courses
FY30
3 years from now
Guidance counselling capacity
FY31
4 years from now
Further classroom teacher cuts
FY32
5 years from now
Based on the priorities you set. Reorder them and these dates move.
Year by year
FY28
Gap $930,273Cut $939,180Positions lost to date 2.9
Remaining Athletics Program (all sports)Ends all school-sponsored sports: coaches, trainer, AD, officials, equipment.Athletics$217,908✕Cut
Band & Music Supplies, Equipment, RepairInstruments go unrepaired; no sheet music or reeds.Arts & Music$17,073✕Cut
0.6 -> 1.0 Music Teacher — High SchoolNew music electives; frees a PE section for seniors. One-time funded.Arts & Music$26,370✕Cut
Art Supplies — all four schoolsArt classes run without consumable materials.Arts & Music$30,685✕Cut
High School Band & Chorus ProgramEnds band and chorus at Lunenburg High School.Arts & Music · our estimate$72,440✕Cut
High School Clubs & After-School AdvisorsEnds every advised club at the high school.Clubs & Activities$11,731✕Cut
Student Device Refresh & Computer LeasesChromebook replacement cycle stops; devices age past repair.Technology$265,316✕Cut
Instructional Technology Contracts (per school)Loses licensed classroom software and platforms.Technology$87,924✕Cut
Network & Telecommunications ContractsReduced bandwidth and support; state testing capacity at risk.Technology$55,230✕Cut
Grounds Maintenance & SuppliesFields and grounds degrade; athletic surfaces become unsafe.Operations & Facilities$79,458✕Cut
Equipment Replacement & Capital MaintenanceBoilers, kitchen and classroom equipment run to failure.Operations & Facilities$75,045✕Cut
FY29
Gap $553,726Cut $624,436Positions lost to date 9.9
Building Maintenance Contracted ServicesDeferred maintenance accumulates; small failures become capital projects.Operations & Facilities$257,000✕Cut
Custodial Staff #1Cleaning frequency drops below health-code comfort in some buildings.Operations & Facilities$48,630✕Cut
Custodial Staff #2Cleaning frequency drops below health-code comfort in some buildings.Operations & Facilities$48,630✕Cut
Custodial Staff #3Cleaning frequency drops below health-code comfort in some buildings.Operations & Facilities$48,630✕Cut
Library Staff & Materials — all four schoolsCloses staffed libraries district-wide.Advanced & Elective Academics$221,546✕Cut
FY30
Gap $532,715Cut $595,400Positions lost to date 15.2
Middle School Exploratory & Elective BlockMiddle school reduced to core academics only.Advanced & Elective Academics · our estimate$185,000✕Cut
Advanced Placement & Upper-Level ElectivesCollapses the AP course catalog; students lose college-credit pathways.Advanced & Elective Academics · our estimate$290,000✕Cut
High School Department Head StipendsNo curriculum leadership by subject at LHS.School Leadership & Admin$29,950✕Cut
0.5 -> 1.0 Assistant Principal — High SchoolFull-time AP for discipline, climate, and staff support. One-time funded.School Leadership & Admin$90,450✕Cut
FY31
Gap $587,110Cut $587,709Positions lost to date 19.2
Social Workers (1.0 reduction)A school loses its full-time mental-health clinician.Student Mental Health & Health · our estimate$99,007✕Cut
Guidance Counselors (1.0 reduction)Caseloads rise above 300:1; college counseling curtailed.Student Mental Health & Health · our estimate$110,000✕Cut
School Nurse (1.0 reduction)Buildings share nursing coverage; medication administration at risk.Student Mental Health & Health · our estimate$87,870⚖Protected by law
1.0 Reading Specialist — PrimaryTier 2/3 phonics intervention for K-2. One-time funded in FY27.Early Literacy & Intervention$103,722✕Cut
1.0 Reading Specialist — Turkey HillAddresses the "fourth-grade slump" in grades 3-5. One-time funded.Early Literacy & Intervention$103,722✕Cut
Professional Development — district-wideNo training on new curriculum, literacy practice, or student mental health.Core Classroom & Class Size$41,800✕Cut
FY32
Gap $700,728Cut $707,727Positions lost to date 24.2
Classroom Instructional Materials & WorkbooksTeachers buy their own consumables or go without.Core Classroom & Class Size$120,677✕Cut
Substitute Teacher Budget (reduction)Classes combined or supervised by non-teachers when staff are absent.Core Classroom & Class Size$74,500✕Cut
Additional Classroom Teachers #1Every further cut pushes average class size up by roughly one student.Core Classroom & Class Size · our estimate$102,510✕Cut
Additional Classroom Teachers #2Every further cut pushes average class size up by roughly one student.Core Classroom & Class Size · our estimate$102,510✕Cut
Additional Classroom Teachers #3Every further cut pushes average class size up by roughly one student.Core Classroom & Class Size · our estimate$102,510✕Cut
Additional Classroom Teachers #4Every further cut pushes average class size up by roughly one student.Core Classroom & Class Size · our estimate$102,510✕Cut
Additional Classroom Teachers #5Every further cut pushes average class size up by roughly one student.Core Classroom & Class Size · our estimate$102,510✕Cut
The cascade cuts until each year’s hole is covered, so the last thing cut usually overshoots — programs come in whole units and you cannot cut 60% of a teacher.