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Forest Lake, Minnesota - 12 schools
An equity score of 35/100 ranks Forest Lake Public School District #304 of 410 districts in Minnesota (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $13,685 per pupil, Forest Lake Public School District ranks #303 of 504 Minnesota districts by per-pupil spending (Minnesota districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
5,855
Total Enrollment
12
Schools
$13,685
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Forest Lake Public School District operates 12 public schools serving 5,855 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Minnesota. The school portfolio breaks down into 8 combined, 2 high, 1 middle, 1 elementary schools, a compact enough portfolio that families can compare every campus directly before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Washington County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $13,685 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 504 Minnesota districts by per-pupil spending. See how Minnesota compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 33.9% local, 56.4% state, and 9.7% 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 35/100, ranked #304 of 410 in Minnesota 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 12 schools offering Advanced Placement (29 AP courses district-wide), a 355.2:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 23.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 76.4% White, 7.1% Asian, 6.5% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Forest View Elementary, with a diversity index of 56.9/100.
Its largest campus is Forest Lake Area High School, enrolling 1,805 students (31% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Step, at 47 students, a 38x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Forest Lake Area High School accounts for 30.8% of all Forest Lake Public School District student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Forest Lake Public School District-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.
Forest Lake Public School District school enrollment varies 38× across entities
Forest Lake Public School District school enrollment ranges from 47 students (lowest) to 1,805 students (highest), a spread of 1,758 students. That ratio is among the widest observed and reflects extreme enrollment heterogeneity, the district operates both small specialty programs and large comprehensive campuses inside a single budgeting unit. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Forest Lake Public School District student-counselor ratio is 355:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Forest Lake Public School District chronic absenteeism rate is 23.7% — 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 Forest Lake Public School District is typically wider than the Forest Lake Public School District-aggregate figure suggests.
Comparisons are relative to Forest Lake Public School District's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Minnesota
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Forest Lake Public School District?
Forest Lake Public School District has 12 schools, including 2 high, 1 middle, 8 combined, 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 5,855 students.
How much does Forest Lake Public School District spend per student?
Forest Lake Public School District spends $13,685 per student. The district has an equity score of 35/100, ranking #304 in Minnesota.
What is the demographic composition of Forest Lake Public School District?
Forest Lake Public School District students are 76.4% White, 7.1% Asian, 6.5% Hispanic or Latino, 3.6% African American, averaged across 12 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Forest Lake Public School District?
Forest Lake Public School District has an equity score of 35/100, ranking #304 out of 410 districts in Minnesota.