Gateway City criteria and benefits unfairly cut out deserving communities in need
Population under 18 down 5.4 percent from 2000, greater concentration of young children live in Boston and Gateway Cities
In some districts, a fifth of students come and go during school year
Census numbers suggest hollowing out of state’s middle-income households
The scrappy Merrimack Valley city has never had it easy. These days things are even tougher than usual.
