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Caro, Michigan - 5 schools
An equity score of 43/100 ranks Caro Community Schools #453 of 707 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,312 per pupil, Caro Community Schools ranks #486 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,496
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$12,312
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Caro Community Schools operates 5 public schools serving 1,496 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Michigan. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 combined, 1 high, 1 middle, 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 Tuscola County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,312 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 24.2% local, 64.1% state, and 11.7% 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 43/100, ranked #453 of 707 in Michigan against a state average of 50, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 5 schools offering Advanced Placement (8 AP courses district-wide), a 333:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 45.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 88.6% White, 7.2% Hispanic or Latino, 0.9% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Schall Elementary School, with a diversity index of 25.6/100.
Its largest campus is Caro High School, enrolling 411 students (30% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Caro Alternative High School, at 33 students, a 12x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Caro High School accounts for 27.5% of all Caro Community Schools student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Caro Community 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.
Caro Community Schools school enrollment varies 12× across entities
Caro Community Schools school enrollment ranges from 33 students (lowest) to 411 students (highest), a spread of 378 students. That spread reflects typical mixed-portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Caro Community Schools has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 65.6% 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). Eligibility here is approaching the 75% concentration-grant threshold; it does not yet unlock the extra funding tier but sits meaningfully above the baseline 50% majority mark. 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.
Caro Community Schools student-counselor ratio is 333:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
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 Variation between sub-units within Caro Community Schools is typically wider than the Caro Community Schools-aggregate figure suggests.
Caro Community Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 45.4% — 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.
Caro Community Schools has 5 schools, including 1 high, 2 combined, 1 middle, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 1,496 students.
How much does Caro Community Schools spend per student?
Caro Community Schools spends $12,312 per student. The district has an equity score of 43/100, ranking #453 in Michigan.
What is the demographic composition of Caro Community Schools?
Caro Community Schools students are 88.6% White, 7.2% Hispanic or Latino, 0.9% African American, 0.6% Asian, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Caro Community Schools?
Caro Community Schools has an equity score of 43/100, ranking #453 out of 707 districts in Michigan.