Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal
records, no number is typed in by an editor. District totals are aggregated directly from the schools reporting under this district in the source records. See our
editorial standards & corrections policy, the
methodology behind these numbers, or
report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.
Decatur, Michigan - 2 schools
An equity score of 54/100 ranks Decatur Public Schools #282 of 707 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,033 per pupil, Decatur Public Schools ranks #355 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
785
Total Enrollment
2
Schools
$13,033
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Decatur Public Schools operates 2 public schools serving 785 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Michigan. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 combined, 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 Van Buren County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,033 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending. See how Michigan compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 23.0% local, 56.4% state, and 20.5% 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 54/100, ranked #282 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.
a 288.5:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 42.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 67.5% White, 25.1% Hispanic or Latino, 0.1% African American across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Decatur Jr Sr High School, enrolling 399 students (53% of the district's total enrollment).
Decatur Jr Sr High School accounts for 50.8% of all Decatur Public Schools student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Decatur Public Schools a distant remainder — means Decatur Public Schools-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: combined. 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.
Decatur Public Schools has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 58.3% 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.
Decatur Public Schools student-counselor ratio is 289:1 — 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 Decatur Public Schools is typically wider than the Decatur Public Schools-aggregate figure suggests.
Decatur Public Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 42.5% — 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.
Decatur Public Schools has 2 schools, including 1 combined, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 785 students.
How much does Decatur Public Schools spend per student?
Decatur Public Schools spends $13,033 per student. The district has an equity score of 54/100, ranking #282 in Michigan.
What is the demographic composition of Decatur Public Schools?
Decatur Public Schools students are 67.5% White, 25.1% Hispanic or Latino, 0.1% African American, averaged across 2 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Decatur Public Schools?
Decatur Public Schools has an equity score of 54/100, ranking #282 out of 707 districts in Michigan.