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Farwell, Michigan - 4 schools
An equity score of 55/100 ranks Farwell Area Schools #266 of 707 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,980 per pupil, Farwell Area Schools ranks #215 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
1,008
Total Enrollment
4
Schools
$13,980
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Farwell Area Schools operates 4 public schools serving 1,008 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Michigan. The school portfolio breaks down into 3 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 Clare County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,980 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 37.2% local, 34.6% state, and 28.1% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 55/100, ranked #266 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 344:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 46.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 92.2% White, 3.5% Hispanic or Latino, 1.1% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Farwell High School, with a diversity index of 17.4/100.
Farwell High School accounts for 34.1% of all Farwell Area Schools student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Farwell Area 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.
Farwell Area Schools school enrollment varies 8.8× across entities
Farwell Area Schools school enrollment ranges from 39 students (lowest) to 344 students (highest), a spread of 305 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.
Farwell Area Schools has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 66.0% 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.
Farwell Area Schools student-counselor ratio is 344:1 — 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 Farwell Area Schools is typically wider than the Farwell Area Schools-aggregate figure suggests.
Farwell Area Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 46.4% — 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.
Farwell Area Schools has 4 schools, including 3 combined, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 1,008 students.
How much does Farwell Area Schools spend per student?
Farwell Area Schools spends $13,980 per student. The district has an equity score of 55/100, ranking #266 in Michigan.
What is the demographic composition of Farwell Area Schools?
Farwell Area Schools students are 92.2% White, 3.5% Hispanic or Latino, 1.1% African American, 0.1% Asian, averaged across 4 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Farwell Area Schools?
Farwell Area Schools has an equity score of 55/100, ranking #266 out of 707 districts in Michigan.