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Elk Rapids, Michigan - 5 schools
An equity score of 22/100 ranks Elk Rapids Schools #692 of 707 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,997 per pupil, Elk Rapids Schools ranks #554 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,231
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$11,997
Per-Pupil Spending
High, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Elk Rapids Schools operates 5 public schools serving 1,231 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Michigan. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 high, 2 combined, 1 middle 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 Antrim County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,997 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 71.9% local, 17.6% state, and 10.5% 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 22/100, ranked #692 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 (12 AP courses district-wide), a 241.3:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 26.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 88.3% White, 6.6% Hispanic or Latino, 0.3% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Sunrise Academy, with a diversity index of 32.1/100.
Its largest campus is Elk Rapids High School, enrolling 360 students (30% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Sunrise Academy, at 21 students, a 17x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Elk Rapids High School accounts for 29.2% of all Elk Rapids Schools student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Elk Rapids 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.
Elk Rapids Schools school enrollment varies 17× across entities
Elk Rapids Schools school enrollment ranges from 21 students (lowest) to 360 students (highest), a spread of 339 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.
Elk Rapids Schools student-counselor ratio is 241:1 — low (typically associated with meeting or exceeding the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommended 250:1 benchmark, which correlates with stronger college and career counseling capacity)
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
Elk Rapids Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 26.4% — near the typical range (US average ~28) — aligned with the national post-pandemic baseline of roughly 28% chronic absenteeism
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 Variation between sub-units within Elk Rapids Schools is typically wider than the Elk Rapids Schools-aggregate figure suggests.