School spending

Spending and pupils

From FY2012 to FY2025 Lunenburg’s spending rose 48.7% and its pupils fell 5.6%; North Middlesex lost 23.5%.

1 · The facts

  • 48.7%

    Lunenburg’s spending, FY2012 to FY2025

  • -5.6%

    its FTE pupils, the same years

  • 57.5%

    its figure a pupil

  • 43.8%

    the smallest spending rise, North Middlesex

  • 59.0%

    the largest, Groton-Dunstable

  • -23.5%

    North Middlesex’s FTE pupils

  • 87.8%

    North Middlesex’s figure a pupil

2 · What it shows

  1. 1

    The six districts this project compares raised spending 43.8% to 59.0%; Lunenburg’s 48.7% sat between.

  2. 2

    Pupils moved further apart: North Middlesex lost 23.5% of its pupils, Lunenburg 5.6%.

  3. 3

    So North Middlesex’s figure a pupil rose 87.8% and Lunenburg’s 57.5%; a ratio moves with both halves.

Change from FY2012 to FY2025
SpendingFTE pupilsA pupil
North Middlesex43.8%-23.5%87.8%
Groton-Dunstable59.0%-14.0%84.9%
Harvard48.6%-18.7%82.8%
Lunenburg48.7%-5.6%57.5%
Ayer Shirley School District51.4%-3.0%56.2%
Ashburnham-Westminster46.5%-2.9%50.8%

Changes are our arithmetic on DESE’s totals, total FTE pupils and per-pupil figures. FY2012 is the first year Ayer Shirley exists as one district.

Sources

What changed

Version 15 — updated September 20, 2026