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Richland, Michigan - 7 schools
An equity score of 45/100 ranks Gull Lake Community Schools #418 of 707 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,960 per pupil, Gull Lake Community Schools ranks #372 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,256
Total Enrollment
7
Schools
$12,960
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Gull Lake Community Schools operates 7 public schools serving 3,256 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Michigan. The school portfolio breaks down into 3 combined, 3 elementary, 1 high 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 Kalamazoo County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,960 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 31.4% local, 61.8% state, and 6.8% 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 45/100, ranked #418 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.
Academic infrastructure includes 2 of 7 schools offering Advanced Placement (26 AP courses district-wide), a 615.3:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 33.1% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 78.8% White, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 3.8% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Gull Lake Gateway Academy, with a diversity index of 58.4/100.
Its largest campus is Gull Lake High School, enrolling 877 students (26% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Gull Lake Gateway Academy, at 28 students, a 31x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Gull Lake High School accounts for 25.8% of all Gull Lake Community Schools student enrollment
That concentration means Gull Lake Community 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.
Gull Lake Community Schools school enrollment varies 31× across entities
Gull Lake Community Schools school enrollment ranges from 28 students (lowest) to 877 students (highest), a spread of 849 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.
Gull Lake Community Schools student-counselor ratio is 615:1 — 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.
Gull Lake Community Schools chronic absenteeism rate is 33.1% — high (typically associated with higher-than-average disruption; recent CRDC data showed elevated rates persisting after pandemic-era schooling changes)
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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
How many schools are in Gull Lake Community Schools?
Gull Lake Community Schools has 7 schools, including 3 combined, 3 elementary, 1 high. Total enrollment is 3,256 students.
How much does Gull Lake Community Schools spend per student?
Gull Lake Community Schools spends $12,960 per student. The district has an equity score of 45/100, ranking #418 in Michigan.
What is the demographic composition of Gull Lake Community Schools?
Gull Lake Community Schools students are 78.8% White, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 3.8% African American, 1.1% Asian, averaged across 7 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Gull Lake Community Schools?
Gull Lake Community Schools has an equity score of 45/100, ranking #418 out of 707 districts in Michigan.