email: lunenburgledger@gmail.com
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Phone: (978) 888-5549
Breaking News.Dear Lunenburg Voters,
I have lived in Lunenburg for over 35 years and have taken pride in how our neighbors come together to help one another. We are a caring community.
Our town, like most other small communities throughout the state, is struggling to provide for our citizens. With high inflation increasing health insurance costs and limiting the purchasing power of our dollars we, the people, have a difficult decision to make. Do we watch Lunenburg’s ability to meet all its citizen’s needs deteriorate or do we step in to help our neighbors?
No one wants to pay more taxes, but without an override we will lose many things that make Lunenburg home. This is not only one department, but some services for all departments will be lost. From the Council on Aging, to the library, the Police and Fire Departments, and schools everyone is experiencing cut budgets. Recreation, town band, Board of Health and DPW are all facing cuts.
The Selectboard, School Committee, and Finance Committee have worked together to develop this budget and the override tiers at public meetings. Please read the warrant booklet for override information. It is clearly presented. Think about your situation and carefully consider your vote. Remember, your neighbors are counting on you!
Town Meeting Saturday, May 2nd at 9:00 am at the Lunenburg Middle High School
Town Election Saturday, May 16th 7:00 am to 5:00 pm at TC Passios
Thank you.
Carol Archambault 662 Page St. Lunenburg
To the Editor,
Strong communities depend on more than meetings and committees. They depend on residents being heard.
Too often, local residents who raise legitimate concerns are met with delayed responses, unclear processes, broken website links, or no meaningful follow-up at all. Whether the issue involves conservation, permitting, neighborhood concerns, or simple requests for guidance, silence creates frustration and erodes trust.
Residents do not expect every answer to be yes. They do expect acknowledgment, transparency, and a reasonable understanding of how decisions are made.
Volunteer boards and committees play an important role in town government, but they must be supported by accessible systems, timely communication, and public accountability. When engagement feels difficult or futile, fewer people participate and that hurts everyone.
Lunenburg has many residents who care deeply about this town and are willing to serve. We should make it easier for them to engage, not harder.
Responsive local government is not a luxury. It is the baseline for public trust.
Sincerely,
Taunja Golding
Lunenburg
To the Editor:
I am writing to you today because the upcoming override vote will directly determine the trajectory of the community we love. When faced with a tax increase, it is incredibly easy to find a flaw or an imperfection in town operations and use it as a reason to vote no. However, those imperfections will always exist. A "no" vote isn't going to solve them; it is only going to multiply our town's imperfections by decimating the core services we rely on.
I am a mother of two kids who grew up in North Central Massachusetts. Four years ago, my family moved to Lunenburg because it was a thriving, vibrant community, and we absolutely love it here. My parents also live in town. We chose Lunenburg for its stability and high quality of life, but that foundation is currently under severe threat as we face this impending budget deficit.
I want to stress to my fellow residents that this override is NOT just about the schools. If it fails, all aspects of our town will be impacted. We are looking at losing a Police Sergeant, multiple teachers cutting vital senior center benefits, losing essential library staffing like the Youth Services Librarian, and essentially eliminating our Recreation Department’s programming.
These cuts will negatively impact all of our property values. Who wants to move to a town with underfunded schools and underfunded town services? People will simply stop coming to Lunenburg if we cannot provide adequate services for everyone, from our youngest children to our seniors.
The group creating this override proposal has been incredibly thoughtful about the approach. The tiered options they have presented are designed specifically to sustain us for a few years, rather than just being a temporary fix. Stability is so important right now. The emotional and financial energy spent continuously fighting over an override every single year is simply too much for our community to bear. A "no" vote does not solve anything; it just guarantees we will be right back here next year in an even worse position, facing even deeper cuts.
I urge my fellow residents to look at the reality of these cuts at yesforlunenburg.com. Let’s choose stability. Let's protect the thriving community we all love and rely on. Please vote YES on the upcoming override.
Sincerely,
Meghan Flynn
68 Wildwood rd.
To the Editor, Lunenburg Ledger
Dear Editor,
I write as a retired teacher living on a fixed income and as the grandmother of two students who attend Lunenburg Public Schools. I strongly support the proposed school override.
Throughout my career I saw how modest investments in staƯing, curriculum, and student services translate directly into better learning and fewer students falling behind. Adequate funding allows smaller class sizes, up-to-date materials, and timely interventions that benefit every child, including my grandsons. The parents of Lunenburg entrust us with their best; it is our responsibility to provide the resources that let those children flourish.
Supporting our teachers with competitive compensation and professional development helps retain experienced educators and attract qualified candidates. As someone on a fixed income, I do not make this request lightly, but I believe the long-term benefits— stronger schools, a healthier community, and better futures for our children—outweigh the modest cost.
For the sake of our students and the future of Lunenburg, I respectfully urge voters to support the override.
Sincerely,
Vickie Sculimbrene
5 Valley Rd.
Lunenburg, MA 01462
Maybe you don’t have a child who eats, sleeps and breathes sports, but I do. School, for him, and so many of our kids here in Lunenburg isn’t just about learning a variety of subject matter, it’s about being part of a community and team. When you cut teams, and you cut student transportation to ALL sports, you are eliminating the pride, mental and physical health, sportsmanship, and sense of belonging that being on a team provides. We will lose students to other districts that can offer our students a spot on their teams, or will have to put our kids and their equipment in cars with teen drivers if parents can’t get them to the events. We already have folks rethinking whether Lunenburg can provide our kids with an excellent education, manageable class sizes, and access to sports and the arts. We will lose tax money when families discern that the town of Lunenburg isn’t invested in our children and move away. The big picture, if this override doesn’t pass, is grim. I know that money is tight. I know that food, goods and services, and gas prices have skyrocketed, but to vote NO to the override hurts our youngest population the most… the ones that can’t vote.
Camilla A. Thompson, MS, CED, LLC
Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
For a community that is so family oriented, i am heartbroken so see how so many are content in failing the children of Lunenburg. I get it, the taxes are going to be difficult for so many residents, but it’s a total disservice to the children to force so many unnecessary cuts on the schools. I have a child with learning disabilities. It is already so hard for him to focus with 22 children in his class. Increasing class sizes to 30 children on top of cutting teacher and supports… it means we might have to remove him from the Lunenburg public schools and look into more costly private options. I am a firm believer in public schools and one of the reasons we moved to Lunenburg was for the school systems. It is a travesty to allow the children to be affected by this override not passing.
Emma Pauly
Lunenburg
We are in support of the override. Shaun and Julie Bergeron 2 Lincoln St.
Thank you,
