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Lancaster, Kentucky - 5 schools
An equity score of 48/100 ranks Garrard County #90 of 171 districts in Kentucky (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,215 per pupil, Garrard County ranks #123 of 171 Kentucky districts by per-pupil spending (Kentucky districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,606
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$12,215
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Garrard County operates 5 public schools serving 2,606 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Kentucky. The school portfolio breaks down into 3 combined, 1 high, 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 Russell County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,215 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 171 Kentucky districts by per-pupil spending. See how Kentucky compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 24.3% local, 54.2% state, and 21.5% 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 48/100, ranked #90 of 171 in Kentucky 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 (9 AP courses district-wide), a 500.6:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 19.4% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 87.0% White, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 1.8% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Lancaster Elementary School, with a diversity index of 33.7/100.
Its largest campus is Garrard County High School, enrolling 792 students (32% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Paint Lick Elementary School, at 260 students, a 3x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Garrard County High School accounts for 30.4% of all Garrard County student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Garrard County-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.
Garrard County school enrollment varies 3.0× across entities
Garrard County school enrollment ranges from 260 students (lowest) to 792 students (highest), a spread of 532 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Garrard County has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 63.2% 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.
Garrard County student-counselor ratio is 501:1 — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
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 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.
Garrard County chronic absenteeism rate is 19.4% — 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 Garrard County is typically wider than the Garrard County-aggregate figure suggests.
Garrard County has 5 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 3 combined. Total enrollment is 2,606 students.
How much does Garrard County spend per student?
Garrard County spends $12,215 per student. The district has an equity score of 48/100, ranking #90 in Kentucky.
What is the demographic composition of Garrard County?
Garrard County students are 87.0% White, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 1.8% African American, 0.5% Asian, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Garrard County?
Garrard County has an equity score of 48/100, ranking #90 out of 171 districts in Kentucky.