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Highland, Illinois - 6 schools
An equity score of 27/100 ranks Highland Cusd 5 #605 of 763 districts in Illinois (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $12,645 per pupil, Highland Cusd 5 ranks #737 of 848 Illinois districts by per-pupil spending (Illinois districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,796
Total Enrollment
6
Schools
$12,645
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Highland Cusd 5 operates 6 public schools serving 2,796 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Illinois. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 combined, 2 elementary, 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 Madison County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $12,645 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 848 Illinois districts by per-pupil spending. See how Illinois compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 50.3% local, 38.7% state, and 11.0% 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 27/100, ranked #605 of 763 in Illinois against a state average of 38, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 6 schools offering Advanced Placement (11 AP courses district-wide), a 281.3:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 13.8% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 92.9% White, 2.5% Hispanic or Latino, 0.6% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Highland Primary School, with a diversity index of 20.3/100.
Its largest campus is Highland High School, enrolling 844 students (31% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Grantfork Upper Elementary Sch, at 66 students, a 13x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Highland High School accounts for 30.2% of all Highland Cusd 5 student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Highland Cusd 5-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.
Highland Cusd 5 school enrollment varies 13× across entities
Highland Cusd 5 school enrollment ranges from 66 students (lowest) to 844 students (highest), a spread of 778 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.
Highland Cusd 5 student-counselor ratio is 281:1 — 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 Highland Cusd 5 is typically wider than the Highland Cusd 5-aggregate figure suggests.
Highland Cusd 5 chronic absenteeism rate is 13.8% — low (typically associated with lower-than-average attendance disruption; districts in this range often have attendance interventions, robust transportation, or smaller catchments that reduce barriers)
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 Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.