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Saugus, Massachusetts - 4 schools
An equity score of 23/100 ranks Saugus #313 of 362 districts in Massachusetts (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $20,399 per pupil, Saugus ranks #233 of 396 Massachusetts districts by per-pupil spending (Massachusetts districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,502
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
$20,399
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Saugus operates 4 public schools serving 2,502 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Massachusetts. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 elementary, 1 high, 1 middle, 1 combined schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Essex County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $20,399 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 396 Massachusetts districts by per-pupil spending. See how Massachusetts compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 65.9% local, 26.2% state, and 7.9% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers. The district's equity score is 23/100, ranked #313 of 362 in Massachusetts against a state average of 38, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 4 schools offering Advanced Placement (14 AP courses district-wide), a 404.4:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 34.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 48.4% White, 33.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.5% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Veterans Early Learning Center, with a diversity index of 64.9/100.
Its largest campus is Belmonte Steam Academy, enrolling 814 students (30% of the district's total enrollment).
Belmonte Steam Academy accounts for 30.4% of all Saugus student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Saugus-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: elementary. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Saugus student-counselor ratio is 404:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Saugus chronic absenteeism rate is 34.7% — high (typically associated with higher-than-average disruption; recent CRDC data showed elevated rates persisting after pandemic-era schooling changes)
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.