Fall River and New Bedford school spending per student rose more than 50% in five years, state figures show
Mattapoisett spent the most per student of the 19 districts that serve the region's cities and towns and Acushnet the least, while the Greater New Bedford vocational district topped them all.
SOUTH COAST Spending per student in Fall River's and New Bedford's public schools rose by more than half over five years, to $23,626 and $23,096 in fiscal 2024, the fastest growth of any South Coast school district, state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education figures show.
New Bedford's figure grew 57.4% from $14,671 in fiscal 2019, and Fall River's grew 55.2% from $15,222. In fiscal 2024 New Bedford spent $336.9 million for about 14,587 students and Fall River $307.3 million for about 13,006, the two largest totals among South Coast districts. Fall River's 12.7% rise from fiscal 2023 was also the biggest one-year increase of any of the 23 districts in the table. Taunton, the third largest district by students, spent $19,590 a student, up 34.8% over the same five years.
Taken together, the 19 districts that serve the region's cities and towns spent $1.32 billion for about 62,394 students in fiscal 2024, or $21,166 a student. That is 7.9% more per student than in fiscal 2023 and 41.4% more than in fiscal 2019, while the number of students counted fell about 1% over the five years. The statewide figure was $23,165, up 5.8% in a year and 35.2% in five.
Above and below the state
Fifteen of the 19 districts spent less per student than the state figure. The four that spent more were Mattapoisett at $26,824, Wareham at $23,688, Fall River at $23,626 and Marion at $23,595. New Bedford, fifth highest of the 19, came in $69 under the statewide number.
The lowest figures belonged to Acushnet, $16,083, and Berkley, $16,160, followed by Freetown-Lakeville at $17,291 and Swansea at $17,967. Three of the 19 districts spent less per student in fiscal 2024 than a year earlier: Dighton-Rehoboth, down 4.1%, Westport, down 3.4%, and Rochester, down 3.1%. Westport also had the smallest five-year rise, 15.8%.
The region's four regional vocational and agricultural high schools all spent more per student than the state figure. Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical spent $29,016, the highest of any district in the region, followed by Greater Fall River Regional Vocational Technical at $25,699, Bristol County Agricultural at $25,028 and Bristol-Plymouth Regional Vocational Technical at $24,622. Bristol County Agricultural was the only one of the 23 below its fiscal 2019 figure of $27,537.
What the figure counts
The department's total spending per pupil takes a district's operating spending, for its own schools and for students it places elsewhere, from every funding source, and divides it by the year's average enrollment. That enrollment includes students the district pays for at charter schools, special education collaboratives and private special education schools. Community services, building and equipment purchases and debt service are left out, so payments on school construction loans do not show up in these figures. The figures are the dollars districts reported for each year and are not adjusted for inflation.
Grade spans differ, and the state's figure is a straight division of spending by students. Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester each run schools from prekindergarten through grade 6, and Old Rochester Regional teaches grades 7 to 12. Acushnet, Berkley and Somerset run prekindergarten through grade 8, and Somerset Berkley Regional teaches grades 9 to 12, according to the department's district profiles.
District by district
| District | Fiscal 2024 | Fiscal 2023 | Fiscal 2019 | Change since 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acushnet | $16,083 | $14,946 | $12,831 | up 25.3% |
| Berkley | $16,160 | $15,072 | $12,533 | up 28.9% |
| Dartmouth | $19,335 | $18,365 | $14,387 | up 34.4% |
| Dighton-Rehoboth | $18,720 | $19,522 | $14,942 | up 25.3% |
| Fairhaven | $18,260 | $16,788 | $13,195 | up 38.4% |
| Fall River | $23,626 | $20,962 | $15,222 | up 55.2% |
| Freetown-Lakeville | $17,291 | $16,520 | $13,972 | up 23.8% |
| Marion | $23,595 | $21,223 | $16,286 | up 44.9% |
| Mattapoisett | $26,824 | $25,123 | $20,582 | up 30.3% |
| New Bedford | $23,096 | $20,943 | $14,671 | up 57.4% |
| Old Rochester Regional | $21,519 | $21,092 | $16,662 | up 29.1% |
| Rochester | $18,113 | $18,684 | $14,736 | up 22.9% |
| Seekonk | $20,245 | $19,429 | $16,605 | up 21.9% |
| Somerset | $20,176 | $19,353 | $15,862 | up 27.2% |
| Somerset Berkley Regional | $21,384 | $19,445 | $16,149 | up 32.4% |
| Swansea | $17,967 | $16,710 | $14,092 | up 27.5% |
| Taunton | $19,590 | $18,207 | $14,529 | up 34.8% |
| Wareham | $23,688 | $22,877 | $17,976 | up 31.8% |
| Westport | $18,361 | $19,014 | $15,857 | up 15.8% |
| 19 districts combined | $21,166 | $19,609 | $14,966 | up 41.4% |
| Bristol County Agricultural | $25,028 | $24,139 | $27,537 | down 9.1% |
| Bristol-Plymouth Regional Vocational Technical | $24,622 | $24,057 | $19,283 | up 27.7% |
| Greater Fall River Regional Vocational Technical | $25,699 | $26,161 | $19,941 | up 28.9% |
| Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical | $29,016 | $29,136 | $20,244 | up 43.3% |
| Massachusetts | $23,165 | $21,886 | $17,131 | up 35.2% |
Where to look closer
Fiscal 2024 is the newest year in the state's report, which the department last updated Jan. 22. The department also posts each district's spending by fund and by function for the past five years in its RADAR reports.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every figure comes from public records: the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's report Per Pupil Expenditures, All Funds, which the department says it last updated on Jan. 22, its Profiles help page that defines each column, and its district profile pages for the grades each district serves. We read them on Oct. 29. The combined figure for the 19 districts, every percentage change, the difference from the state figure and the count of districts above and below it are our arithmetic from the state's own numbers. Charter schools are not in the table because they enroll students from many communities.
Corrections
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Sources (3)
- Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: Per Pupil Expenditures, All Funds (School and District Profiles)Statewide report, years 2024, 2023 and 2019 viewed; columns In-District Expenditures, In-District FTEs, In-District Expenditures per Pupil, Total Expenditures, Total Pupil FTEs, Total Expenditures per Pupil, and the State Total row. Page note: "Data was last updated on January 22, 2026." Read Oct. 29, 2026.
- Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: Profiles Help, About the Data, FinanceDefinitions of total expenditures (in-district programs and out-of-district placements, all funding sources, excluding community services, fixed assets and debt service) and total FTE average membership (including students at charter schools, special education collaboratives and private special education schools). Read Oct. 29, 2026.
- Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: district profiles (Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester, Old Rochester, Acushnet, Berkley, Somerset, Somerset Berkley)Grades Served, 2025-26, on each district's general profile page. Read Oct. 29, 2026.