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Big Rapids, Michigan - 5 schools
An equity score of 28/100 ranks Big Rapids Public Schools #659 of 707 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,792 per pupil, Big Rapids Public Schools ranks #591 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,363
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$11,792
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Big Rapids Public Schools operates 5 public schools serving 2,363 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Michigan. The school portfolio breaks down into 3 combined, 1 high, 1 elementary 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 Mecosta County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,792 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending. See how Michigan compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 25.2% local, 60.4% state, and 14.4% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 28/100, ranked #659 of 707 in Michigan against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 5 schools offering Advanced Placement (3 AP courses district-wide), and 52.6% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 86.9% White, 3.4% African American, 2.4% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Brookside Elementary School, with a diversity index of 32.3/100.
Its largest campus is Big Rapids High School, enrolling 755 students (34% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Big Rapids Virtual School, at 115 students, a 7x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Big Rapids High School accounts for 32.0% of all Big Rapids Public Schools student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Big Rapids Public Schools-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. 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.
Big Rapids Public Schools school enrollment varies 6.6× across entities
Big Rapids Public Schools school enrollment ranges from 115 students (lowest) to 755 students (highest), a spread of 640 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Big Rapids Public Schools has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 53.6% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Areas above 75% eligibility receive concentration grants on top of the basic Title I formula. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Big Rapids Public Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 52.6% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 Values this far above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
How many schools are in Big Rapids Public Schools?
Big Rapids Public Schools has 5 schools, including 1 high, 1 elementary, 3 combined. Total enrollment is 2,363 students.
How much does Big Rapids Public Schools spend per student?
Big Rapids Public Schools spends $11,792 per student. The district has an equity score of 28/100, ranking #659 in Michigan.
What is the demographic composition of Big Rapids Public Schools?
Big Rapids Public Schools students are 86.9% White, 3.4% African American, 2.4% Hispanic or Latino, 0.2% Asian, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Big Rapids Public Schools?
Big Rapids Public Schools has an equity score of 28/100, ranking #659 out of 707 districts in Michigan.